Three years, three different champions. The National League East has been the definition of parity in the last few years.
Last year, the Atlanta Braves won the division, two years ago the Nationals won the division and three years ago the Phillies won 102 games. The Marlins have a lot of young talent, and the Mets are getting there as well.
Can the Braves repeat? Can the Phillies be a miracle? Can the Nationals play to their potential? The next few months will tell us the answer to one question that only time knows the answer to.
Who wins the NL East in 2014?
Miami Marlins
Last year, the Marlins lost 100 games. They were 38 games under .500. They had the worst offense in the MLB, scoring just 513 runs. But, can they improve this year?
The fish already have 10 wins, and have only lost 11 games. Improvement is an understatement, but why are they going to be better this season?
First and foremost, the Marlins will likely win once every five days with Jose Fernandez on the hill. He is slowly but surely climbing the ranks as the top pitcher in the major leagues. When he is on his game, there is almost no team that can hit him. Adding Tom Koehler, Nate Eovaldi, Henderson Alvarez, and Jacob Turner (when healthy) and Miami has a very good young pitching staff.
The Marlins lineup has been surprisingly good so far, and with Giancarlo Stanton finally seeing some fastballs, he has been capitalizing and driving in runs. Can the Marlins keep it up and be a sleeper pick for the division?
New York Mets
Mets fans are sick and tired of being number two in New York to the Yankees, is this the year they come out of the cellar?
The Mets have a plethora of young talent in their system, but that’s just the issue. The talent at the major league level is not sufficient enough to make a deep run, but can the Mets surprise everyone?
The starting rotation is the strong point of the Mets team, but they need to be healthy. Matt Harvey likely will not pitch this season, and Bobby Parnell is hurt at the moment as well. Next year, the Mets rotation will likely feature three of the best young pitchers in the game with Harvey, Zach Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard, but until then the Metropolitans will be relying on Bartolo Colon.
New York’s lineup features a few good hitters in David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Curtis Granderson, but can they all put it together? So far the only consistent hitter has been David Wright, so the others will need to step up in order to win the NL East.
Philadelphia Phillies
What can the Phillies do to win the NL East? Stop getting older.
How in the world can that happen? Exactly. The Phillies have eight players on the active roster who are over 35 years old. Eight. Think about that. Now, most of these players are bench guys, right? Wrong, only one of them is a backup and that is catcher Wil Nieves.
The Phillies core is made up of Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins. Howard is the youngest of the bunch at 34 years old. Now, if the entire team can stay healthy and perform to their potential, the Phillies could surprise. The issue is, however, with an old team, that is hard to accomplish.
The Phillies will need incredible seasons from A.J. Burnett, Cole Hamels, and Cliff Lee to maintain their hopes at a division crown.
Atlanta Braves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn0NU7dEbyc
The Braves will have a shot at winning a second division crown in as many years, but they will need some players to step up.
The lineup is as inconsistent as they come. The Upton brothers, Justin and B.J. (especially B.J.) are the most inconsistent outfielders in the National League. Each of them could go 9-14 with four home runs, then go 1-22. Not what you want when the rest of your team strikes out a lot as well. Freddie Freeman is leading the Braves in nearly every offensive category, and will be a staple for that lineup, but he needs help.
The Braves have always had good pitching. Look at Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson, and now Julio Teheran, Kris Medlen (who is out for the season), Mike Minor (when healthy) and more. But, the Braves will need one guy to step up this season to help them to the promised land.
The first part of the rotation is set with Teheran, Santana, and Alex Wood. When Mike Minor comes back from injury he will be slotted in as the fourth starter. Who is that fifth guy? Aaron Harang. Yes, you read that correctly. After today’s start, (he threw six innings, struck out 11 and allowed just one run) Harang has a minuscule ERA of 0.85. Is that enough to win the NL East?
Washington Nationals
Who wins the NL East?
Photo: Daniel Shirey, USA Today