Earlier today I did my predictions for the AL East as I alternate leagues and work my way across the country to end with the division of our defending champion. Tomorrow I'll be in the Central divisions.
To finish today, let's look at the NL East.
NL East
1. Washington Nationals
2020: 26-34 (5th in NL East), missed playoffs
An already strong rotation gets bolstered with the veteran addition of Jon Lester, and the bullpen is pretty solid as well. I like the lineup too, with Kyle Schwarber's defection from the Cubs he'll add some left handed pop to a solid lineup that also got Josh Bell. Add in the continued development of guys like Juan Soto and I think this Nats team can get back into the mix.
2021 Prediction: 90-72
2. Atlanta Braves
2020: 35-25 (1st in NL East), lost NLCS
The Braves of the past couple seasons have started to rise to become a contender in the National League, and should be right back in the mix again. I like the lineup led by Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, and Ronald Acuna. I'm just not as sold on their starting rotation. There are some solid names here, but we'll see if they can put it together again and make another run.
2021 Prediction: 89-73
3. Philadelphia Phillies
2020: 28-32 (3rd in NL East), missed playoffs
Philly made the big splash in 2019's free agency by landing Bryce Harper, but they have yet to really turn it into anything. Harper and Realmuto remain the cornerstones of this team along with Rhys Hoskins, and Andrew McCutchen should be fully recovered from his knee injury. I like the starting rotation too, but I wonder if this team has enough to go blow for blow with the two teams above them.
2021 Prediction: 85-77
4. New York Mets
2020: 26-34 (4th in NL East), missed playoffs
The Mets made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason, trading for Francisco Lindor to anchor shortstop. This is a nice move, but I'm not sure about the rest of the roster. The Mets haven't really lived up to expectations over the past half decade, and I'm not sure they have what they need to do it again this year. The rest of the lineup has some decent pieces like Pete Alonso, but I'm not really sold on the pitching. Yeah, you've got Jacob deGrom, but you're without Noah Syndegaard for another couple months yet, and I'm not sure there's enough depth there to really make a run. The Mets won't be bad... but I don't think they're a contender either.
2021 Prediction: 80-82
5. Miami Marlins
2020: 31-29 (2nd in NL East), lost NLDS
You know what, call me bitter about the Cubs' playoff exit last year... but I'm not sold on the Marlins. Yeah, there's some good pieces from the team that return that could push this team back to where they were a year ago in guys like Sixto Sanchez, and the addition of Starling Marte could help too. I'm just not sure about them. They won't be awful, obviously, but I don't think they'll stack up in this division.
2021 Prediction: 76-86
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