2018 Preview: NL East

Arguably baseball's least competitive division in 2017, the National League East will see a repeat champion again face little competition for the crown this season. The Nationals were the only team in the division to win even half of their games last year, and even this has a chance to happen once more. However, the division carries some storylines into the new year, with the Marlins fire sale, the (probable) last year of Bryce Harper in DC and the Mets having the potential to finally use Syndergaard, deGrom, Harvey, Matz and Wheeler in the same rotation.

1st place: Washington Nationals

The Nationals clinched the division title on September 10th last season, and might be even better this year. They lost a handful of role players to free agency and made no major additions, signing Joaquin Benoit, Matt Adams and Jeremy Hellickson. If new manager Dave Martinez knows what he's doing, the top of the lineup should be strong with Trea Turner, a healthy Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy. Adams and Ryan Zimmerman could platoon at first, while the combo of aging catchers Miguel Montero and Matt Wieters will man the backstop. Michael Taylor will slot in at center, and uber prospect Victor Robles waits in the wings. The rotation will be elite, with Scherzer and Strasburg at the helm, followed by Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and a patchwork combination of Hellickson, AJ Cole and others. Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson will anchor a decent pen. Expect the Nationals to win more than 90 games with a shot at 100, and should they finally get to the NLCS, have a chance to bring a ring to the nation's capitol.

2nd place: Philadelphia Phillies

"A few years away" might finally be here for the nearly rebuilt Phillies. A full season from Rhys Hoskins with the additions of Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana will vastly improve what was a dreadful team last year. Shortstop JP Crawford should be in the bigs for good and has had a better than 10% walk rate at each level of pro ball. Scott Kingery may be on his way to join in as Crawford's double play partner. The rotation will be led by two second-rate aces in Arrieta and Aaron Nola, followed by some unproven flamethrowers in the back end. The bullpen, highlighted by Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter, will be a weakness of this team, but they can buy one in the near future when they are fully ready to contend. The Phils have a real shot to win half of their games this season and some lucky breaks could send them into wild card contention. In a worst case scenario, the team will win around 73 games and have the full potential of the rebuild yet to come.

3rd place: New York Mets

Baseball fans can salivate at the prospect of finally seeing the Mets sexy, young, wait, Matt Harvey is 28 already? OK, so it's a few years later than we hoped, but this fivesome could bring a lot of heat. Especially if they all throw 150+ innings. Which they won't. Jason Vargas, Robert Gsellmen and Seth Lugo will make serviceable fill-ins. For relievers, it's an average crop that added Anthony Swarzak, who may takeover for Jeaurys Familia as closer. Expect less than 600 plate appearances from Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes in the outfield. They will be playing behind a less productive infield with stars of yesteryear Adrian Gonzalez and Asdrubal Cabrera manning the right half, across from Amed Rosario and newly acquired Todd Frazier at the hot corner. Free of Terry Collins, the Mets could sneak into the postseason with healthy seasons from the hurlers, but reason says this chronically ailing ballclub will fail to reach .500. One more thing, David Wright is on the roster. He's 35 and has played 75 games since 2014.

4th place: Atlanta Braves

In their new ballpark, the Braves were able to win more than 70 games while in full tank mode. They should be much better this year with Ronald Acuna, Brandon McCarthy and 21-year-old lefty Luis Gozhara bolstering the squad and hordes of prospects yet to arrive. Freddie Freeman will anchor an infield that should be quietly good with Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies still developing. Atlanta's catcher tandem of Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers combined for more than 5 WAR in 2017, each reaching base more than 35% of the time and adding solid defense. Expecting them to match that contribution is overly optimistic, but they should contribute yet again. Starters Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz will be decent and big lefty Sean Newcomb might be an ace if he can cut down on his walks. Arodys Vizcaino will handle save duties behind a bullpen that may issue a lot of walks. Similar to the Phillies, the Braves aren't there yet but are actually fairly deep and could hurry some youngsters up if they choose to go for it in 2018. In a division wide open below Washington, Atlanta are a dark horse wild card contender.

5th place: Miami Marlins

The Marlins have the worst team in the majors. They sent away their entire elite outfield and Dee Gordon in a cost-cutting fire sale, further punishing a fan base that has dealt with the tragic death of Jose Fernandez and the disastrous publicly funded stadium built by ownership who would soon depart. J.T. Realmuto may be the only above average regular on the squad and is likely to be dealt. Justin Bour could also help a contender. Lewis Brinson is the player to watch in Miami, after posting a .993 OPS in the Brewers AAA last season. The rest of the lineup likely won't be worth much, and the starting rotation is a dumpster fire by MLB standards. If you like strikeouts, Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider should be a thrill to watch out of the pen. Don't be surprised to see the Fish finish with three digits in the loss column this year. To shed some optimism on the bleak outlook in Miami, here are two facts: revenue sharing exists, and the regular season ends on September 30 this year.

.

#NLEast #BryceHarper #MiamiMarlins #Syndergaard