2017 National League East Preview
Washington Nationals
2016: 95-67 (NL East Champs, lost in NLDS to Los Angeles Dodgers)
Key additions: RHP Joe Blanton, C Matt Wieters, 1B Adam Lind, OF Adam Eaton
Key subtractions: OF Ben Revere, RHP Mark Melancon, C Wilson Ramos, LHP Marc Rzepczynski
Path to the playoffs: Find the right lineup. Trea Turner leading off with some combination of Eaton, Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon to follow. Max Scherzer's finger shouldn't be much of an issue. Closer could be, but they've got enough options. As good as the Mets pitching might be, this lineup likely has the Ryan Zimmerman/Lind platoon hitting eighth or ninth. Good luck getting through that lineup more than twice.
X-factor: Bryce Harper had a down year in 2016 by Bryce Harper standards and they still made the playoffs. Should Scherzer's finger thing become a bigger thing throughout the season, the onus is on Stephen Strasburg to be healthy and effective again to lead a talented rotation that lacks real depth.
New York Mets
2016: 87-75 (2nd in NL East, lost in Wild Card game to San Francisco)
Key additions: None
Key subtractions: RHP Bartolo Colon
Path to the playoffs: Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo and Zack Wheeler. Nobody possesses such talented starting pitching depth. Yoenis Cespedes looks poised to make an MVP run, maybe they'll finally accidentally have to find at bats for Michael Conforto and Neil Walker should be healthy. They proved they can sustain some pitching injuries and make the playoffs and they should do it again.
X-factor: The one area where the Mets lack depth is catcher. We keep hearing about Travis d'Arnaud's offensive potential but he's never healthy. If he has a breakout offensive year, the Mets become even scarier.
Miami Marlins
2016: 79-82 (2rd in NL East)
Key additions: RHP Edinson Volquez, LHP Jeff Locke, RHP Brad Ziegler, RHP Junichi Tazawa, C A.J. Ellis
Key subtraction: RHP Fernando Rodney, RHP Andrew Cashner
Path to the playoffs: With AJ Ramos, Kyle Barraclough, Ziegler, Tazawa, and David Phelps, the Marlins are banking on a strong bullpen to carry a mediocre rotation that's trying to eat innings after the tragic death of Jose Fernandez. The Marlins offense is talented enough to compete but a dominant bullpen is their only shot at hanging to a Wild Card shot.
X-factor: Score another x-factor for health. Obviously the health of some key player affects every team but not like Giancarlo Stanton does for the Marlins. 140-plus games from Stanton would do wonders for the Marlins playoff chances.
Philadelphia Phillies
2016: 71-91 (4th in NL East)
Key additions: OF Michael Saunders, RHP Joaquin Benoit, OF Howie Kendrick, RHP Pat Neshek
Key subtractions: RHP David Hernandez, C AJ Ellie, RHP Charlie Morton
Path to the playoffs: The Phillies have a playoff contenders rotation even though their rebuild isn't complete. Some of their best prospects like JP Crawford, Jorge Alfaro, Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins aren't far away. They have a good bullpen but keep pretending Jeanmar Gomez is a closer. But outs in the ninth inning aren't always the most important and they've got good arms in front of the ninth too, so if they find some runs, they should have an outside shot at a Wild Card.
X-factor: Maikel Franco had a great rookie campaign then took a step back. The Phillies offense and any playoff chances would greatly improve if Franco can get close to his rookie breakout.
Atlanta Braves
2016: 63-79 (5th in NL East)
Key additions: RHP R.A Dickey, RHP Bartolo Colon, INF Sean Rodriguez, 2B Brandon Phillips, LHP Jamie Garcia, C Kurt Suzuki, 2B Micah Johnson
Key subtractions: None
Path to the playoffs: Finding a path to a postseason berth for the Oakland Athletics is tough and this may be tougher. The lineup is interesting with some defense, power and speed mixed in throughout. If Matt Kemp's "best shape of his life" leads to another renaissance and Freddie Freeman has another MVP season, the rest of the this lineup can just play a role. The real surprise would have to come from the rotation. Dickey and Colon would have to have some really big season, Julio Teheran would need to take the next step into being a true ace and Garcia would need to be healthy. They'll be better than last year but unless something freaky happens with their pitching, they will have to fight just to get out of the basement.
X-factor: Whether they want to find a way to compete or continue to add young assets, Dickey and Colon pitching well would help. It gives them a shot at .500 and possibly two arms to flip for something in return at the deadline. .
POSTED 03/27/2017 02:53
Lake County Sentinel
