Garceau: MLB National League Predictions
Play Ball! Time to throw darts at the National League; in our American League preview we picked the Blue Jays, Royals and Astros to win Division titles. The NL looks like a pair of 3 team division battles and a two team knockdown drag-out in the East.
NL East
This might be the best race in either league with the Mets and Nationals among the very best in baseball. Third place in this division was 19 games back last season and it looks like another 2-team cage match again.
- NY Mets (Pitching, pitching and more pitching, Daniel Murphy left the Metropolitan's for the Nats but the Mets have the best arms in baseball).
- Washington (The Nats are capable of winning it all but isn't that what we said last year? Bryce Harper might improve on an MVP year but losing Jordan Zimmerman to Detroit hurts).
- Miami (The Marlins are the best of the rest but let's be honest this is a 2-team race. Don Mattingly has a thumper in Giancarlo Stanton and a nice 1-2 punch in Jose Fernandez and former Oriole Wei-Yin Chen they win the fight for third place.)
- Atlanta (The rebuilding continues for the Braves, gone are Shelby Miller, Andrelton Simmons and Cameron Maybin. The future is brighter than the present).
- Philadelphia (They didn't lose 100 games last year only 99. Andy McPhail and the brass are in full rebuild mode and there's more pain before the gain.
NL Central
When 97 wins only gets you third place you know you're playing in the best division in baseball. That third place team was the Cubs who are this year's popular choice to be in the World Series. This should be fun!
- Chicago (Remember 1908 you will in the fall if the Cubs are chasing their first WS title since then. Sure they over paid for Jason Heyward but taking him (and Lackey) from the rival Cardinals might be the difference in the division.)
- St. Louis (If a healthy Adam Wainright and the addition of Mike Leake can off-set the loss of Lackey and Lance Lynn the Cardinals will win 90 something and could spoil the Cubs party).
- Pittsburgh (The Pirates are shooting for their fourth straight playoff appearance. Gerritt Cole is an ace and Andrew McCutchen is an MVP this could be the best third place team in baseball.
- Milwaukee (They edge the Reds to avoid the cellar about 20 games behind the third place team. Full re-build mode, when do they trade Jonathan Lucroy?).
- Cincinnati (The Big Dead Machine lost 98 games in '15. Gone are ace closer Aroldis Chapman and hard hitting Todd Frazier. When do Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips get moved for prospects?).
NL West
The Dodgers won this division by 8 games in 2015 and are after their fourth straight NL West title. I'm not sure they get it done this time. They have plenty of depth and deep pockets to bring in help but something doesn't feel right about this team.
- San Francisco (Johnny Cueto, and Jeff Samardzija join Mad Bum at the top of the Giants rotation and they should more than make up for the loss of Mike Leake. An even numbered year usually means a Giants year.
- Los Angeles (Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir will be key, they're not Zack Grienke but they need to have solid years, Clayton Kershaw can't do it all. How quick does Corey Seager live up to his star billing?
- Arizona (The trendy pick to win the division, like the Nats and Mariners last year. The D-Backs are all in with Greinke and Shelby Miller on the mound. Arizona is good but not quite good enough.
- San Diego (The Padres were big spenders before the '15 season but the return was a 74-88 season. Craig Kimbrell and Justin Upton have since exited, this looks like a fourth or fifth place team.
- Colorado (Tulo went last summer and Carlos Gonzalez could be traded this season. The Rockies get a good closer in lefty Jake McGee and have a star in third baseman Nolan Arenado who led the league in home runs. Can they avoid 90 plus losses, probably not.
