The St. Louis Cardinals won their third straight NL Central title in 2015 and made the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, although the season ended with a disappointing loss to the Cubs in the Division Series. They won 100 games -- their most since winning 100 in 2005 -- on the strength of historic run prevention. They allowed 70 fewer runs than any other team; the last team with a lower ERA was the 1988 Mets and the last teams to allow fewer runs per game were the 1981 Astros and Yankees.

What do they need? The Cardinals hit 32 more home runs than 2014, but still ranked just 11th in the National League. After ranking first or second in runs scored from 2011 to 2013, they ranked ninth in 2014 and 11th in 2015, a result of that lack of power (and minimal team speed as well). They may be looking for a power-hitting first baseman and if they don't re-sign Jason Heyward, they may be looking for a right fielder, unless they give full-time jobs to both Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk. John Lackey is a free agent, but Adam Wainwright will be back from his torn Achilles. Still, Carlos Martinez was shut down for the postseason with a shoulder strain, so rotation depth is always a possibility.

Guy on the rise: Piscotty has always had good-not-great numbers in the minors, but when called up to St. Louis, he outperformed his Triple-A results, hitting .305/.359/.494 in 256 plate appearances, with seven home runs and 15 doubles. He started games in left field, right field and first base (and one game in center), so he could be the cheaper alternative to replacing Heyward in right field. Scouts have always believed he had some power potential in that swing, and he looks like he could be a 15-to-20 homer guy, enough bat for a corner outfield position.

Prospect to anticipate: RHP Alex Reyes is just 21 but has already reached Double-A, where he posted a 3.63 ERA in eight starts with 52 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. With a plus fastball that has hit 100, a plus curveball, a two-seamer he added in 2015 and work-in-progress changeup, he could be ready for a midseason call-up, even if only helping out of the bullpen. He's another example of excellent Cardinals scouting. He's from New Jersey, where he played third base in high school, but avoided the draft by moving to the Dominican Republic and living with relatives. He tried pitching there, and the Cardinals signed him for $950,000 in 2012.

Winter action plan: The first course of action will be determining if Heyward is going to be worth the $150 million-plus contract he'll get from somebody. The Cardinals don't like handing out those big contracts, but they did sign Matt Holliday for $120 million back in 2010, and that worked out. This may also be Holliday's final season in St. Louis (the team has a club option for 2017), so building an outfield around Heyward makes sense, given his Gold Glove defense and that he just turned 26.

But maybe the Cardinals believe enough in Piscotty, Grichuk and Tommy Pham to instead go after that big power bat. Chris Davis isn't the kind of player the Cardinals have turned to in recent seasons -- he struck out 208 times in 2015 -- but he's averaged 40 home runs per season the past four years. He's a big upgrade over Matt Adams and could even fill in at third base or the outfield. Lackey was the team's best starter in 2015, so bringing him back on a two-year deal makes sense as well.