{"id":23794,"date":"2023-03-27T18:15:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T22:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=23794"},"modified":"2023-03-27T18:15:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T22:15:22","slug":"mlb-preview-national-league-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/mlb\/mlb-preview-national-league-east\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB PREVIEW: NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the American league wrapped, it\u2019s time to turn our attention to their National League counterparts and what might be the strongest division in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. ATLANTA BRAVES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season:<\/strong> 101-61, NL East Champion, Lost 1-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds to win NL East:<\/strong> -110<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens when the Atlanta Braves field the best team they\u2019ve put on the diamond in nearly two decades? They get knocked out by a six seed in the National League Divisional Round and that is pretty much how it goes. Now, to say there\u2019s plenty to build on in 2023 is an understatement. While Atlanta got a real pennant race out of the New York Mets last season, it turns out the Philadelphia Phillies were the team they should have been watching out for. While Dansby Swanson walked in the offseason, the team will still bring Ronald Acuna, Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Michael Harris and Ozzie Albies to the plate. That\u2019s more offense than probably 90 percent of the league and Acuna and Riley are legitimate MVP candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It wouldn\u2019t be a Braves team without a ridiculously good pitching staff. Max Fried leads the way for Atlanta. Spencer Strider would be the No. 1 on plenty of teams. They join Charlie Morton, Kyle Wright and Jared Shuster to round out the starting five. This is a great team that should put up a great record before disappointing in the playoffs again, as is the Atlanta Braves way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected 2023 record:<\/strong> 103-58<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season:<\/strong> 87-85, NL Wild Card, lost 2-4 to the Houston Astros in the World Series<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds to win the NL East:<\/strong> +385<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of respect surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies as they begin their National League Championship defense is as palpable as the cheese steak smells coming from Geno\u2019s. No one expected the Phillies to make the World Series in 2022 and the same can be said this season. But to pick them to finish third in their own division after their postseason performance a year ago is not an insult I\u2019m prepared to deliver. Yes, Bryce Harper won\u2019t suit up until after the All-Star break, but Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto all bring plenty of lumber to the yard. They can keep the wheels on for half a season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the rotation, Aaron Nola is coming off his best season in the majors with a 3.25 ERA and Zack Wheeler is probably just as good. Taijuan Walker, Roger Suarez and Baily Falter complete the five. Honestly, this might be a low total for Philly and, if Harper was healthy on March 31, I\u2019d probably pick them to win the NL East. As it is, they\u2019ll probably have to take the Wild Card route they performed in so well in last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected 2023 record:<\/strong> 99-63<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. NEW YORK METS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season:<\/strong> 101-61, NL Wild Card, lost 1-2 to the San Diego Padres in the NLWS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds to win the NL East:<\/strong> +150<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York has done everything they should this offseason, including opening up the bank account and signing high priced free agents to add to their already loaded roster. So why did I pick them to win 11 fewer games in 2023 and finish third in the NL East? Because somebody has to and it\u2019s not going to be the Braves, a team that waits until Halloween  season or so to implode. And, it shouldn\u2019t be the Phillies, who were the second best team in baseball when it counted around that time Charlie Brown walks around in his sheet with too many eye holes collecting nothing but rocks from a neighborhood of outright sociopaths. I mean, they have to be giving the poor kid rocks on purpose, right? He\u2019s already bald, for God\u2019s sake. Is it too much to ask to toss him a fun sized Snickers instead of a piece of gravel covered in cat turds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a star studded batting order led by Jeff McNeil, who posted a .326 batting average last year and will still probably hit fifth in the order. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Luis Guillorme all hit over .270 last season and Guillorme isn\u2019t even expected to be an every day starter. You already know all the pitchers, with Max Scherzer at one and Justin Verlander at two. Kodai Senga was a monster free agent signing in the offseason and should be a star in New York. Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson round out the five. I like the Mets. The record I\u2019ve given them here still lands them in the postseason as a Wild Card. The math just makes sense to me. I can\u2019t pick them over Philly or Atlanta and those wins have to come from somewhere. Of course, with a division this top heavy there\u2019s always a chance the two basement dwellers might find a way to be even worse than we expect and land all three of the favored teams in the triple digit win territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected 2023 record:<\/strong> 90-72<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. MIAMI MARLINS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season:<\/strong> 69-93<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds to win the NL East<\/strong>: +4000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marlins make a serious run every six to 17 years and since their last postseason appearance was in 2020, my math tells me that 2023 will not buck the trend. Of course, Miami has done nothing in the offseason to really change its fortunes. Their offense was lackluster in 2022 to say the least. Adding Luis Arraez might improve it, but not enough to make up for being so far behind the rest of their division, if not the entire top half of the national league. Much has been made of their plan to shuffle their best defenders all over the field so they can up their run production, and I don\u2019t hate the idea. Yes, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. hasn\u2019t played in the outfield as a professional, but it can\u2019t be that hard to stand in the grass and dodge batteries when you play in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Marlins can pitch, with Sandy Alcantara leading up the five starters. Jesus Lezardo, Trevor Rogers, Johnny Cueto and Edward Cabrera look like the other four. Miami should be more fun to watch and more competitive this season, but it won\u2019t make a difference in the standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected 2023 record:<\/strong> 68-94<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. WASHINGTON NATIONALS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last season:<\/strong> 55-107<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odds to win the NL East:<\/strong> +20000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. From 2012 to 2019 the Nationals were a postseason fixture, winning it all in 2019. Then, of course, the cart slid into a ditch and they haven\u2019t sniffed even 70 wins since. But, hey, if you want to see some young and up and coming players and potential stars, Washington should be a cheap ticket to enjoy them before they all get snapped up by the contending teams with monster contracts. The Nats will have to find guys outside of Luis Garcia and Ildemaro Vargas who can produce some runs, so get ready to learn those prospect names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Josiah Gray will lead the rotation, with Patrick Corbin, MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl as the five. Washington will likely be one of the worst teams in the league and my prediction of 50 wins might seem optimistic come August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected 2023 record:<\/strong> 50-112<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE With the American league wrapped, it\u2019s time to turn our attention to their National League counterparts and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":23800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[149],"class_list":["post-23794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-mlb"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23801,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794\/revisions\/23801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}