I've condensed this down from prior years; I used to do one division a day. With a mid-week start to the season, I've changed that to doing two-a-days. I'm still sticking with my same pattern of rounding my way around the country, alternating leagues, and always ending with the division of the defending champion.
With the West and Central under wraps, and the defending champion Red Sox getting to round out the previews, we look at the NL East.
NL East
Interleague Pairing: AL Central
2018: 80-82 (3rd in NL East), 1 win above COAS prediction; missed playoffs
Philly landed arguably the biggest prize of the offseason in Bryce Harper, but also added J.T. Realmuto to shore up the catcher spot. Adding Andrew McCutchen was another nice move, which gives them a good combination of youth and veteran talent in the field. The pitching staff isn't bad either, led by the 1-2 punch of Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta. Philly was on the upswing last year; this year they make it back to the playoffs.
2019 Prediction: 93-69
2018: 90-72 (1st in NL East), 24 wins above COAS prediction; lost NLDS
The Braves made a quick exit in last year's postseason, but they'll be right back in the thick of it this year. There's a ton of good, young talent here in guys like Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna, and they added Josh Donaldson to provide some veteran leadership and good defense. The rotation isn't bad, but not great either. It's enough to keep Atlanta in contention, and while I have them just missing the playoffs, it's only by a game, and I wouldn't be surprised if they made it again this year.
2019 Prediction: 88-74
2018: 82-80 (2nd in NL East), 15 wins below COAS prediction; missed playoffs
The Nats collapsed last year and are now without Bryce Harper, but still have some good pieces. Juan Soto had a great rookie year, and guys like Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner remain, while Brian Dozier comes over to fill a hole at second. The starting rotation is still really good, too, but the collapse last year still sticks out in my mind (...okay, David Bote's ultimate grand slam mostly does, but still). Washington still has enough to avoid freefall, but I don't think they'll contend.
2019 Prediction: 78-84
2018: 77-85 (4th in NL East), 8 wins below COAS prediction; missed playoffs
I was a little too high on the Mets last year despite Jacob deGrom pitching like 2015 Jake Arrieta without the run support en route to a Cy Young. Noah Syndegaard makes a solid number two, but that's really about all that I like about this team. Yoenis Cespedes isn't what he was a few years ago (and he's out until the middle of the year anyway), while there are some scattered pieces here that are okay... but nothing to write home about. It's not a dumpster fire, but it's not great either.
2019 Prediction: 73-89
2018: 63-98 (5th in NL East), 11 wins above COAS prediction; missed playoffs
Miami didn't bottom out as far as I thought they might last year, but they were still pretty bad. I don't see much changing this year. There's a lot of youth here mixed in with some veterans like Starlin Castro and Neil Walker, and the rotation has a decent top guy in Jose Urena (as long as he's not being a thug), but that's about it. This is going to take some time to rebuild... and even then, even with the scumbag Jeff Loria long gone, who knows if they'll keep it intact.
2019 Prediction: 63-99
No comments:
Post a Comment