The NL East has three legit World Series contenders in which makes it the best division in baseball. Here's how we see this division breaking down over the year.
First Place, Atlanta Braves
Lineup: 1. RF Ronald Acuna 2. 1B Matt Olson 3. 3B Austin Riley 4. C Sean Murphy 5. CF Michael Harris 6. 2B Ozzie Albies 7. DH Marcel Ozuna 8. LF Eddie Rosario 9. SS Vaughn Grissom
Rotation/Closer: 1. LHP Max Fried 2. RHP Charlie Morton 3. RHP Spencer Strider 4. RHP Kyle Wright 5. RHP Ian Anderson CL: RHP Raisel Inglesias
The Braves did lose Dansby Swanson this winter, but added one of the better backstops in the game to help fill that void in the lineup. I also think Grissom is about to blossom as the next big Braves homegrown talent. Acuna has MVP potential at the top of the lineup and I think he's primed for a career year now fully healthy. Riley and Olson comprise one of the best corner infield duos in the game and Michael Harris is one of the best young hitters out there. This lineup can do it all. If they get good years out of Ozuna and Rosario then this could be the deepest group in the game.
Much like with their lineup, their rotation keeps popping up with good young talent, most recently in the form of Spencer Strider. He and Fried make a dominant 1-2 punch followed by Morton and Wright, who themselves would be front-end guys on most staffs. They lost Kenley Jansen but Inglesias was arguably the most dominant reliever down the stretch in 2022 (only 1 ER allowed in 28 games with Atlanta). This team really has it all and may now have an edge over New York after the Diaz injury.
Second Place, New York Mets (NL Wild Card)
Lineup: 1. CF Brandon Nimmo 2. RF Starling Marte 3. SS Francisco Lindor 4. 1B Pete Alonso 5. 2B Jeff McNeil 6. 3B Eduardo Escobar 7. DH Dan Vogelbach 8. LF Mark Canha 9. C Omar Narvaez
Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Justin Verlander 2. RHP Max Scherzer 3. RHP Kodai Senga 4. RHP Carlos Carrasco 5. LHP Jose Quintana Closer: RHP David Robertson
The Mets spent a ton of money this offseason but didn't upgrade their team too much from 2022. Luckily for them, they were one of the best in the game last year and look to again be in that running. Their lineup is versatile and deep. They have about as dynamic of a top-four as you could ask for. They should have no trouble getting on the board consistently, whether its stringing together hits and stolen bases or knocking balls out of the park, they can do it all.
Now, I'm not quite as high on the Mets rotation as many around the game. Scherzer and Verlander are still at the top of their game, but both have seen their innings pitched dwindle over the past few seasons. As long as they can both provide 150+ though, that should be enough. I do think Senga will be good, but he will have some growing pains in his first year. Carrasco and Quintana are decent back-end guys but it would't surprise me if both were on the shelf at some point this season. They have a lot of potential in that rotation, but little margin for error in terms of health. The bullpen, despite the loss of Diaz, should still be a strength.
Third Place, Philadelphia Phillies (NL Wild Card)
Lineup: 1. SS Trea Turner 2. LF Kyle Schwarber 3. 1B Rhys Hoskins 4. C J.T. Realmuto 5. RF Nick Castellanos 6. 3B Alec Bohm 7. CF Brandon Marsh 8. DH Darick Hall 9. 2B Bryson Stott *Bryce Harper will be out till mid-season*
Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Aaron Nola 2. RHP Zach Wheeler 3. RHP Taijuan Walker 4. LHP Ranger Suarez 5. LHP Bailey Falter CL: RHP Seranthony Dominguez/RHP Craig Kimbrel
The reigning NL Champs added another star to their lineup in Turner. Unfortunately for them though, they won't see their squad at full strength until Bryce Harper returns around July. They have enough offense to keep them going until then. Castellanos needs to be better this year to help pick up that slack until Harper gets back. I think Bohm is in line for a breakout. Defensively, they have had some issues, but they seemed to tighten up late last season. That will be an area to keep an eye on though.
I think Zach Wheeler is one of the more underrated pitchers in the game. This dude is about as good as it gets when he's on. Nola is the ace of this staff but I'd trust Wheeler more in a must-win situation. The rest of the rotation should be decent after adding Walker. Suarez looked pretty good in the postseason and still hasn't really hit his full potential. Their bullpen added a lot of pieces to the mix this winter as well. They have three or four guys down there now that have all had success closing games. If those guys all have good years this could be one of the nastier, deeper pens in the league.
Fourth Place, Miami Marlins
Lineup: 1. CF Jazz Chisholm 2. DH Jorge Solar 3. 2B Luis Arraez 4. 1B Garrett Cooper 5. RF Avisail Garcia 6. 3B Jean Segura 7. LF Bryan De La Cruz/Jesus Sanchez 8. SS Joey Wendle 9. C Jacob Stallings
Rotation/Closer: 1. RHP Sandy Alcantara 2. LHP Jesus Luzardo 3. LHP Trevor Rogers 4. RHP Johnny Cueto 5. LHP Braxton Garrett CL: RHP Dylan Floro
The Marlins do have a lot of talent, they just haven't really panned out quite yet. Chisholm has been the exception, as he looks like he's rounding into one of the best young talents in baseball. They added Arraez which gives them potential batting champion in the middle of their order. Garcia and Soler need to perform up to their capabilities for this offense to be at full force. I would also like to see De La Cruz or Sanchez really emerge this year as both have the talent to be special players.
The Marlins have a ton of pitching depth within their organization but unfortunately their best young pitching prospects are all injured. Alcantara is a legit ace. Both Luzardo and Rogers have elite upside as well. I liked the addition of Cueto to help guide some of their young starters. Even with all their injuries and losing Pablo Lopez, their rotation should still be pretty good. The bullpen has some nice pieces as well and should be solid.
Fifth Place, Washington Nationals
Lineup: 1. RF Lane Thomas 2. LF Corey Dickerson 3. DH Joey Meneses 4. 3B Jeimer Candelario 5. C Keibert Ruiz 6. 1B Dominic Smith 7. SS CJ Abrams 8. CF Victor Robles 9. 2B Luis Garcia
Rotation/Closer: 1. LHP Patrick Corbin 2. RHP Josiah Gray 3. RHP Trevor Williams 4. LHP MacKenzie Gore 5. RHP Cade Cavalli CL: RHP Kyle Finnegan
The Nats are in the middle of their full-on rebuild. They have a couple of intriguing players who we'll get a long look at in their lineup. Their young middle infield could be a good one with Abrams and Garcia. Meneses looks like a late-bloomer, as he was a stud last year with his first extended playing opportunity. Ruiz is trying to prove himself as one of the best young backstops in the game. Other than that, there's not really much going on here, and they're going to struggle to score consistently.
Looking forward to seeing what Gore, Gray and Cavalli can do. Those three need to be the nucleus of the rotation going forward with Corbin and Strasburg pretty undependable. Their staff lacks depth and experience. The Nats look like they'll be in the NL cellar all year long.
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