| National League East |
W | L | GB |
| X-Washington Nationals | 96 | 66 | — |
| Y-Atlanta Braves | 89 | 73 | 7 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 82 | 16 |
| New York Mets | 75 | 87 | 21 |
| Miami Marlins | 66 | 96 | 30 |
X-Clinched Division
Y-Clinched Wild Card
Washington Nationals
The 2013 season was the final year for Nationals manager Davey Johnson in a Major League Baseball dugout as he has new moved on to the front office in Washington. Johnson will be replaced as manager of the Nationals by former Arizona Diamondbacks assistant coach Matt Williams. Williams spent 17 seasons as an MLB player and in the process launched 378 career home runs while developing a reputation as tough nosed player. Now Williams will be responsible for getting the young Nationals to live up to their potential.
The Nationals offense will be paced by one of their young phenoms in outfielder Bryce Harper. After winning the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2012, Harper missed 44 games last season due to injury which was caused by his tough style of play. Harper is a throwback to players such as Pete Rose and aside from being the best player on the field for the Nationals, Harper is also the hardest worker. If Harper can stay healthy this season he has the potential to hit .290 with 30 home runs, and 25 stolen bases. Aside from Harper, the Nationals lineup will consist of key players such as infielders Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche, and Ian Desmond. Along with outfielder Jayson Werth these five players have the potential to combine to hit 150 home runs this season for the Nationals.
When most people think of the Nationals pitching staff they tend to concentrate solely on starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, but he has reinforcements. The past two seasons have seen Nationals starting pitchers in Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman flirt with winning the NL’s Cy Young Award. After winning 14 games last season with the Detroit Tigers, starting pitcher Doug Fister was traded to the Nationals to sure up the end of the starting rotation in D.C.
After leaving the kid gloves on Strasburg in the past few seasons Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo appears ready to take them off of his 25-year old pitcher in 2014. Straburg has electric stuff, but he has been a caged bird as he is yet to throw 200 innings in a season which he is now expected to do.
Last season Rafael Soriano saved 43 games for the Nationals which was second in the National League. If Soriano saves at least 40 games this season for the Nats it should symbolize that they are playoff bound.
Usually first-year managers are charged with trying to build a team. In the case of Williams he has a playoff caliber team in place. Now it is just a matter of him getting this Nationals team to live up to the expectations that have been placed upon them.
In their first three seasons under manager Fredi Gonzalez, the Atlanta Braves have enjoyed tremendous success in the regular season, but it hasn’t carried over to the postseason. In the past three seasons the Braves have won 279 games in the regular season, but they were only able to secure one single playoff victory. The Braves have a young lineup that was fourth in the National League in runs scored last season with 688, but Gonzalez will need them to improve.Last year Braves general manager Frank Wren signed outfielder B.J. Upton to a five-year, $75 million deal. What Wren and the Braves got in return was a horrible season from Upton in which he only batted .184 with 9 home runs and 12 stolen bases. Upton was supposed to be the table setter for this team, but Gonzalez was forced to drop him towards to bottom of the Braves batting order. Like I said when the Braves first signed Upton they were going to regret it due to the fact that he did not hustle with his previous Major League Baseball team in the Tampa Bay Rays which is a place that players tend to go all out in the effort to get a big contract from a big-market team. After getting off to a blistering start for the Braves last season, B.J.’s older brother Justin Upton cooled off. After being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Justin Upton got off to a torrid start as he hit 12 home runs in the month of April before finishing the season with 27 long balls. The Upton Brothers combined to strikeout 312 times last season while as a team the Braves struck out 1,384 times which was tied for tops in the National League.
The Braves were also tops in the National League last season for home runs, but this team will be paced by their emerging star in first baseman Freddie Freeman. On the heels of his first selection as an NL All-Star, Wren signed Freeman to an eight-year, $135 million extension while avoiding arbitration. With the retirement of longtime Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, Freeman is the new face of the Braves franchise. Freeman batted .319 last season and he is a logical candidate to win the Triple Crown in the National League this season.
The Braves 3.18 earned run average led the National League last season, but Atlanta lost two starting pitchers to NL West squads as longtime Braves starter Tim Hudson signed with the San Francisco Giants and Paul Maholm is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves will return two starting pitchers that won at least 13 games last season in Mike Minor and Julio Teheran. Braves starting pitcher Kris Medlen developed arms problems in spring training which led to Wren signing starting pitcher Ervin Santana who has spent his entire MLB career in the American League with the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals respectively. But the Braves will need a starting pitcher step up in the rotation and take the reins of the leadership like Hudson had done for many years.
Gonzalez can sleep easy at night knowing that he can hand the baseball off to Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning to close out games. Kimbrel led the NL in saves last season with 50 and in just three seasons he has already amassed 139 saves.
The Braves have the talent to win the World Series in 2014, but they must find a way to not implode down the stretch and possibly in the postseason.
Philadelphia Phillies
Blues musician B.B. King once famously had a song entitled “The Thrill Is Gone”. King’s song will forever live in America’s musical lore and the title could apply to the Philadelphia Phillies this season. After 10 consecutive non-losing seasons, the Phillies suffered their first losing season last year since 2002. About three quarters of the way through the 2013 Major League Baseball season, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. fired longtime manager Charlie Manuel and replaced him with former Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg. The problem is that Amaro Jr. handed Sandberg a broken down car that is bound to break down somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.The Phillies have a team consisting of aging veterans and you have to wonder if they’ll be able to withstand the riggers of the 162-game regular season? Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz is 35-years old and he missed 70 games last season. Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is 34-years of age and he has only appeared in 151 games in the past two seasons as he is still recovering from an Achilles heel injury that he suffered in the 2011 National League Division Series. Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is 35-years old and he has not appeared in more than 120 games since 2009 as his knees have been unable to hold up. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was durable last season as he appeared in 160 games. But Rollins is 35-years old and he is far from the player that he was when he won the National League MVP Award in 2007. Ruiz, Howard, Utley, and Rollins were a part of the Phillies core than won the World Series in 2008, but they are all well past their respective primes.
In 1999, the Phillies used a 10th round pick on outfielder Marlon Byrd. After four unproductive seasons in Philadelphia, Byrd was traded to the Washington Nationals. Now after 12 years of MLB service, the Phillies have brought the 36-year old Byrd back into the fold. Byrd spent the 2013 MLB season with the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates as he had a career high in home runs with 24. Amaro and Sandberg are hopeful that Byrd can have the same impact for the Phillies lineup as a veteran like Raul Ibanez had several years ago.
The Phillies lineup does have a building block in 26-year old outfielder Domonic Brown. Last season Brown led the Phillies in home runs (27), and runs batted in (84) as he will be expected to do it once again in 2014.
Lately the Phillies pitching staff has been one of the better ones in the National League, but they took a huge step backwards last season with a 4.32 earned run average which was 14th on the Senior Circuit. Starting pitcher Cliff Lee led this team in wins with 14 to go along with a 2.87 earned run average. Lee is 35-years old and he has eight consecutive seasons in which he has pitched at least 200 innings so you have to wonder when the other shoe is going to drop? The problems with the Phillies pitching staff last season started with starting pitcher Cole Hamels. After signing a six-year, $144 million extension in 2012, Hamels was expected to be the ace of the Phillies rotation, but he struggled mightily in 2013 going 8-14. The 2014 season isn’t getting off on the right foot for Hamels as he is expected to miss the start of the season with biceps tendinitis.
Amaro Jr. signed 37-year old starting pitcher A.J. Burnett to a one-year deal for $16 million. Burnett went 10-11 last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but in 30 starts he struck out 209 batters in 190 innings pitched. Sandberg is hopeful that Burnett can sure up the back end of the rotation.
The outspoken Jonathan Papelbon saved 29 games for the Phillies last season. I am surprised that Papelbon wasn’t dealt last season, but will he have that many save opportunities with this team?
The Phillies do have the opportunity to finish with a winning record, but they must stay healthy. The Hamels injury doesn’t put them off on the right foot in 2014. If the Phillies get off to a slow start it would be interesting to see if Amaro Jr. will decide to have the fire sale that he should have had last season?
Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey was quickly emerging as one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball. But Harvey went under the knife last season for Tommy John surgery and more than likely he will be unavailable for the Mets this season. 40-year old journeyman starting pitcher Bartolo Colon was brought in to provide veteran leadership to the Mets rotation. Colon won 18 games last season with the Oakland Athletics, but you never know what you’re going to get from him; especially when you factor in that he’ll be 41 this spring.
Jon Niese, Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jenrry Mejia are in the mix to be in the Mets starting rotation this spring. Each player has the potential to win 15 games, but it comes down to them remaining healthy. Pitching prospect Noah Syndergard is in the long-term plans for the Mets, but after Harvey suffered his injury you can expect the Mets brass to use the kid gloves on him. More than likely you can still expect to see Syndergard to be pitching the Mets sometime this summer.
With Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth potentially in the bullpen for the Mets, manager Terry Collins will have some experienced arms, but it is Bobby Parnell’s job to lose as closer. Parnell saved 22 games for the Mets last season before a neck injury ended his season.
The Mets have put their pitching staff in the hands of two unproven catchers in Anthony Recker and Travis d’Arnaud. In his brief stint with the Mets last season, d’Arnaud impressed Met pitchers with his command behind the plate.
The Mets were one of the worst offensive teams in the National League last season as they simply lacked firepower. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson attempted to upgrade the offense by signing outfielder Curtis Granderson. During his 10-year MLB career, Granderson has averaged 30 home runs per season. Granderson is a lifetime .261 hitter, but he also has a career on-base percentage of .340. Granderson was brought in by Alderson to provide another veteran presence in the Mets clubhouse while also providing some more depth in the Mets lineup.
The last few seasons have seen Mets third baseman David Wright trying to carry the lineup, but to no avail. Alderson and Collins are hopeful that with Granderson hitting behind Wright his number can resemble what we saw from him earlier in his career when he played with the likes of Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran. Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy is under appreciated, but he has been extremely productive. Murphy is a solid contact hitter that finish second in the National League last season in hits with 188 and this season he will look to become only the third player in Mets franchise history to record 200 hits in a season.
Mets first baseman Ike Davis had an unforgettable 2013 season as he struggled at the plate all season. Davis was expected to be the Mets big bopper in their lineup, but he hit a paltry .205 with only 9 home runs. Alderson flirted with trading Davis in the off-season, but he decided to give him one more chance which means that it is now or never.
Buckle up Met fans because you’re in for another long summer in Queens.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins have one of the younger teams in baseball, but they also have a wealth of potential.
The Marlins have some young studs in their starting pitching rotation led by the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner in Jose Fernandez. The Marlins starting pitching staff also features Jacob Turner, Henderson Alvarez, and Nathan Eovaldi. Each pitcher has the potential to win at least 15 games this season for the Marlins, but will they have enough run support behind them?
The Marlins only scored 513 runs last season which was dead last in the NL. Redmond is hopeful that outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will be healthy for the entire 2014 MLB season. In just 116 games last season Stanton dinged out 24 home runs and if fully healthy this season he has the potential to go yard 35 times. The problem is that Stanton only hits once every turn in the batting order, but the Marlins did sign former Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia this off-season in the hopes that he can bring some of his championship experience from Boston to South Florida.
The Marlins may not win a ton of games this summer, but they will be a tough team that could cause some problems for contending teams down the stretch.
X-Clinched Division
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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