There are six divisions in Major League Baseball, but only one of them stayed interesting until the final days last September. The NL East went down to the wire last season, with two teams flipping positions at the very end. This year, four of the five teams look very competitive, making this coming forecast a little cloudy.
The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets battled it out to the last weekend of the season to see which team would rise to the top of the NL East. They would finish with identical records with 101 wins, but the tiebreaker would go to the Braves. In the end, the Braves, Mets and Phillies finished above .500. All three of them made it to the post-season. The Marlins and Nationals were down and out before the summer started.
The Braves swept the Mets in the three-game series on the final weekend to lock down the crown. The Mets held the advantage going into that final series in Atlanta and could not close it out. This year looks to be no different for these two division powerhouses. Head-to-head, the Braves hold a 27-21 advantage over the Mets in the prior three seasons. The Braves look like they are fully healthy and stacked with both pitching and hitting. The Mets have the most expensive and explosive names on their roster. We shall see if coach Buck Showalter can keep these stars playing as a team. It looks like it has already started on the wrong foot. One of their best pitchers, Edwin Diaz, will be wearing a seatbelt this season as he nurses a leg injury sustained in the World Baseball Classic.
Did we forget to mention the NL Champs?
Let’s not forget about that other team in the division, the World Series runner-up Philadelphia Phillies. They may not have won the division, but they sure created havoc as a wild card in the post season. The loss of Bryce Harper possibly until the midway point in the season will be felt. The Phillies made moves to stay prepared. The Trea Turner acquisition should satisfy the void in the spring, while they wait for Harper to get healthy. The pitching looks as solid as ever. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are the anchors of the club. We should expect another ride out of this squad into September.
What about those other two teams?
There seem to be no expectations around the Washington Nationals camp this year after they dumped superstar Juan Soto. This year should be purely a rebuilding one. The Miami Marlins will be the team to watch with Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara leading a solid group of pitchers. They have decent group of young batting talent that should only get better. The Marlins look to take wins away from last year’s division winners in their play to be the fourth team above .500 this season. This year is definitely shaping up to go to the final days again. Multiple teams will be trying to knock each other off the pedestal until October. The NL East forecast looks cloudy for 2023.
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