I'm not anointing the Nationals as the NL East champions just yet. Especially after what happened to them two seasons ago. But you also can't blame them for thinking about how to finally get over that hump in October. Because they're still the class of this division by a wide margin. A lot can still go wrong, but the only team that Washington realistically has to worry about challenging them for the division title is the Mets.
Last year, this division consisted of two playoff teams and two of the worst teams in all of baseball, with the Marlins right in the middle. Things will probably be pretty similar this season. Although, the Braves likely won't be as God-awful as they try to give people a reason to drive out to the Atlanta suburbs to watch that team. I also think that if not for the tragic death of Jose Fernandez, the Marlins really would've had a shot at challenging for a wild card.
1. Washington Nationals: Name a flaw that this team has. Go ahead. I dare you. As long as they stay healthy, this is the Nationals' division to lose. Thanks to that trade for Adam Eaton, they no longer have to play Trea Turner in center field, and, considering the low price tag, signing Matt Wieters as a free agent really looks like a bargain. He's certainly preferable to a full season of Jose Lobaton, who's a good backup but isn't a Major League starter. Speaking of Major League starters, they've got one of the best rotations in the game. It's so good that Tanner Roark, who went 16-10 with a sub-3.00 ERA last season (and got the win for Team USA in the WBC semifinals) is their No. 4! Rotation depth is one of the main reasons why the Cubs won last season, so if they all stay healthy, Washington's starting pitching will really make them a threat to win it all. The bullpen's a bit of a weakness, and they don't have the shut-down closer they used to in Drew Storen, but if that's all they need, don't be surprised to see somebody like David Robertson in a Nationals uniform by midseason. I'm also not sure if I like the Adam Lind signing or not. It's the National League, so he'll get plenty of at-bats as a pinch hitter, but will he be effective if he's not in there everyday? And the only place you can put him is first, which would push Zimmerman to the bench, so that doesn't really seem like an option. Daniel Murphy, meanwhile, was an MVP candidate last season, but he barely played in the WBC and Dusty Baker was NOT happy about it. Will the lack of at-bats lead to a slow start? They'd better hope not. Because we saw in 2015 what happens when Bryce Harper has to carry the offense by himself.
Projected Lineup: Adam Eaton-CF, Trea Turner-SS, Daniel Murphy-2B, Bryce Harper-RF, Jayson Werth-LF, Ryan Zimmerman-1B, Matt Wieters-C, Anthony Rendon-3B
Projected Rotation: Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark, Joe Ross
Closer: Shawn Kelley
Projected Record: 94-68
2. New York Mets: Virtually everyone on the Mets roster spent time on the DL last season...and they still hosted the Wild Card Game. Just imagine what could happen if their entire roster was healthy at the same time. If it can, the Nationals will definitely get a challenge for the division title. Because the Mets have a formidale lineup to go along with that dominant pitching. Although, once you get past their ridiculous top three, there is somewhat of a drop off (although not by much when Steven Matz comes back). And, no offense to Seth Lugo, but he was Puerto Rico's best option to start a World Championship Game? Their bullpen is filthy, although I'm sure they'd like to know whether Jeurys Familia is going to be suspended and for how long. Offensively they'll benefit from a whole year of Jay Bruce, who really was a difference-maker once he joined the Mets last season. Plus, Lucas Duda is back, which gives them two lefties to sandwich around Cespedes (who opted out of his four-year contract after one year, just to sign a new four-year deal with the same team, which still really confuses me). One guy they probably can't rely on getting back, though, is David Wright. If you ask me, Wright is done. He's played a grand total of 75 games over the past two years due to injuries and will likely start this season on the DL. Wright has been the face of the franchise for more than a decade and deserves to go out on his own terms. But he's a shell of his former self. He, and the Mets, will be better off if he just retires.
Projected Lineup: Jose Reyes-3B, Neil Walker-2B, Curtis Granderson-CF, Yoenis Cespedes-LF, Lucas Duda-1B, Jay Bruce-RF, Travis d'Arnaud-C, Asdrubal Cabrera-SS
Projected Rotation: Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Jacob de Grom, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo (Steven Matz)
Closer: Jeurys Familia
Projected Record: 85-77
3. Miami Marlins: The Marlins have the best outfield in baseball. We already knew that Giancarlo was a beast, and Christian Yelich was the biggest revelation of the World Baseball Classic. I went from asking "why is this guy on the roster?" to wondering if anybody was ever going to get him out. He was seriously on base the entire tournament. The two of them, plus Marcell Ozuna, with Icihro as a fourth option? Wow! Like I said, that outfield is stacked! Their middle infield is really good too with Dee Gordon at second and Adeiny Hechevarria at short. This really looks like a borderline playoff team. I'd think that even more if not for the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez. They signed Edinson Volquez to a two-year deal to take over that No. 1 spot in the rotation, but he'll never be able to "replace" Fernandez. They're completely different types of pitchers. And Volquez won't win nearly as many games as Fernandez would've. Still, they needed to move on and they could've done worse than a veteran innings-eater whose had some big games in the past (like Games 1 & 5 of the 2015 World Series). Closer A.J. Ramos is a stud, too. Are they going to make the playoffs? Probably not. Can they finish above .500? Definitely. Will they be a team others want to play? Absolutely not. And I can at least guarantee one thing about the Marlins this season: they'll have more than just Giancarlo there as their token representative when they host the All-Star Game in July.
Projected Lineup: Dee Gordon-2B, Derek Dietrich-3B (Martin Prado), Christian Yelich-LF, Giancarlo Stanton-RF, Marcell Ozuna-CF, Justin Bour-1B, Adeiny Hechevarria-SS, J.T. Realmuto-C
Projected Rotation: Edinson Volquez, Dan Straily, Tom Koehler, Wei-Yin Chen, Adam Conley
Closer: A.J. Ramos
Projected Record: 82-80
4. Atlanta Braves: Good news Braves fans! You have a pretty new stadium to call home. Bad news: you have to drive out to the suburbs to get there. Good news: the team's not going to be anywhere near as bad as it was last year. Bad news: they still won't be any good. While Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Chipper won't be walking through the door anytime soon, the Braves will at least resemble a Major League team again in 2017. In fact, you'll actually see some familiar names when looking at their roster (which consists of a bunch of guys who were really good about five years ago). And they're set up for the future, too. Former No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson will be their everyday shortstop, and he's the guy they plan on building around as they try to be good again starting in like 2019. Until then, he'll be surrounded by the 2012 NL All-Star Team, which extends to the pitching staff. Julio Teheran is a legitimate ace whose numbers are skewed by pitching for such a bad team. But they've got 43-year-old Mets legend Bartolo Colon penciled in as their No. 2, and fellow 40-something former Met R.A. Dickey is also a part of the rotation. And don't ask me about the bullpen. I have no idea who any of those guys are. They at least have a Major League-quality lineup once again. It's the suspect pitching that will keep the Braves fighting with the Phillies to stay out of the cellar, though. Is it as bad as it was in the late 80s? Not anymore. But this team is a far cry from the mid-90s Braves. At least their fans will have a new stadium to distract them.
Projected Lineup: Brandon Phillips-2B, Dansby Swanson-SS, Freddie Freeman-1B, Matt Kemp-LF, Nick Markakis-RF, Adonis Garcia-3B, Ender Inciarte-CF, Kurt Suzuki-C
Projected Rotation: Julio Teheran, Bartolo Colon, Jaime Garcia, R.A. Dickey, Mike Foltynewicz
Closer: Jim Johnson
Projected Record: 71-91
5. Philadelphia Phillies: While the Braves made some positive moves so as not to completely embarrass themselves in their new ballpark, the same cannot be said about the Phillies. This team is going to lose a lot. They're not as bad as Cincinnati and San Diego, but only slightly. Their big offseason move was the Clay Buchholz trade, but that had as much to do with the Red Sox not wanting him anymore as it did with anything else. Although, the change of scenery could definitely be a good thing for him, and on a team like the Phillies, Buchholz has ace potential (he had it in Boston, too, but they were paying the guys in front of him a lot more). That's about all I've got about the Phillies pitching staff. In fact, I only learned a handful of relievers were even on the Phillies when they came into games during the World Baseball Classic. Noticeably absent from the World Baseball Classic were Phillies position players. That might be kind of a good thing since it means basically their entire team was in camp all Spring. But it also means that the Phillies simply aren't good enough to have any of their players qualify for their national teams. Not even Michael Saunders, who I'm guessing chose not to play for Canada because of the new team. He's a guy that I really want to see succeed because he's seemingly always injured. They also added Howie Kendrick. We'll see how he does not playing for a Los Angeles-based team for the first time in his career. At least he won't have to worry about his playing time. I will say this about the Phillies, too. They've got great pieces to build around in Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera. Just hope they don't become the Padres and the rebuilding is a continual process.
Projected Lineup: Odubel Herrera-CF, Freddy Galvis-SS, Maikel Franco-3B, Michael Saunders-RF, Tommy Joseph-1B, Howie Kendrick-LF, Cameron Rup-C, Cesar Hernandez-2B
Projected Rotation: Jeremy Hellickson, Clay Buchholz, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Aaron Nola
Closer: Jeanmar Gomez
Projected Record: 69-93
It's not going to be a runaway. The Nationals are clearly the best team in the NL East, though. It's their division to lose.
Closer: Jeanmar Gomez
Projected Record: 69-93
It's not going to be a runaway. The Nationals are clearly the best team in the NL East, though. It's their division to lose.
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