Preseason Power Rankings: NL East

[Nationals GM (Preston - Old)]

My rankings:

1. Phillies
2. Braves
3. Nationals
4. Marlins
5. Mets

[Nationals GM (Preston - Old)]

Clearly a divide on this one!

[lincy]

Due to being my division, I am going to expound on my observations...
Braves- young in many spots, Wright should have a better year, Drew/Guerrero are suspect, have potential for big numbers. But are also aging. Pitching staff isn't great, no real stud. Needs Hanson to be huge this year.
Marlins- His page sucks, can't tell who is starting or not, Has great power numbers with Hanley/Dunn/Uggla/Cantu... Pitching is slightly better than braves.
Mets- Young in the infield, Good bats in the outfield, decent pitching staff, could be above average depending on peavy's health, good bullpen. Not great, not terrible
Phillies- Had starting team in the league, whole lineup is pretty stacked, pitching could vary depending on some younger guys, and if hamels can bounce back. bull pen is suspect
Nationals- Young, i think will suprise some teams though, iffy staff, some older players in ibanez/DeRosa. Will be a force in a few years

Prediction Time
Phillies
Marlins
Mets
Braves
Nationals

[Nationals GM (Preston - Old)]

lol, who are the three teams who voted for me to win the division?

[mikekottka]

i don't know but their lips must be tired from all the butt smooching! haha

[Nationals GM (Preston - Old)]

Feb 17, 2010 13:38:17 GMT -8 @mikekottka said:

i don't know but their lips must be tired from all the butt smooching! haha

hahaha

[raisingarizo]

N.L. East
1 Philadelphia Phillies
2 New York Mets
3 Florida Marlins
4 Washington Nationals
5 Atlanta Braves


1. Philadelphia Phillies (160 Pts)
2009 Season Record: 93-69
Notable Acquisitions: Victor Martinez, Jason Bay, Grady Sizemore
A good 1-2 punch? Check. An aggressive offense? Check. A reliable bullpen? Um...Can I get a rain check?
The Phillies should be a good team heading into the 2010 season, especially if Cole Hamels can return to his former-dominating, lights-out, self. Hamels and Cliff Lee is an intriguing pair of aces, however they've got the support of an offense that loses Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez and Jason Werth and replaced them with Jason Bay, Grady Sizemore who might get off to a slow start and Victor Martinez.
As a group, the Phillies managed to score 820 runs and swipe 119 bases, which was good enough for second in the National League. They also ranked first in the NL in SLG (.447) and second in OPS (.781). The team, offensively, should be nearly as good heading into the 2010 season.
The Phillies, however, did have trouble with their bullpen last season.
Brad Lidge did save 31 games, but his ERA sky-rocketed to 7.21, and he blew 11 save opportunities. And with the news that he may not be ready by the start of the season due to surgery, the Phillies' bullpen woes could continue.
Add a slightly reduced rotation and poor bullpen with an excellent overall offense and your left with a serious contender again this year. Look for the team to win around 85 games and be tough in the playoffs.

2. New York Mets (135 PTs)
2009 Season Record: 70-92
Notable Acquisitions: Randy Wolf, Michael Bourne, Jairr Jurrjens, Mike Napoli, Jayson Werth, Brett Gardner, Carlos Lee, Jake Peavy
Lost: Johan Santana, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran
No. 18? Really?
Let's face it; the Mets had terrible luck last season. They were an injury-prone team that struggled for most of the season. Losing Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran didn't help. Well GM Rio made some aggressive changes that will definitely help in the long run but this year remains to be seen. Because of the improbability of any team repeating the misfortune of injured players the 2010 Mets would have improved significantly in 10’.
They finished 23 games out of first place and were outscored by opponents, 671 to 757. In order to crack the top 10 again, they're going to have to stay healthy. The examination of the offense is a simple one. Can Michael Bourne, Mike Napoli, Jayson Werth, Brett Gardner and Carlos Lee make up for the loss of Delgado, Wright, Beltran and Reyes? The answer is an emphatic yes! Replace Reyes and Wrights’ steals? check. Replace Single Digit HRs from all 3? Check. Jayson Werth’s 36 HRs from last year topped the totals of the departing Met hitters. Gardner and Bourne will both steal a bevy of bases (Jason Werth will chip in 15 to 20 for good measure). Granted Reyes, Wright and Beltran would have probably returned to their former production. Still in my opinion the changes in offense (not to mention the money saved) will work in 2010 and improve going forward.
Last season the Mets managed to hit .270/.335/.394 collectively as a team. They hit only 95 home runs. It’s not impossible that Carlos Lee, Jayson Werth and Mike Napoli best the total without contributions that will surely come from the remaining offense.
Pitching wise, they weren't much better. The team ERA was 4.45 (12th in NL) and opponents managed to hit .264 off of them. Team ace Johan Santana had 13 wins and an ERA of 3.13. Other than Santana, the Mets weren't too exciting to watch. Unfortunately I think the pitching will only slightly improve. The Mets basically traded Santana out for Peavy. They might run neck and neck. Expect to see the good John Maine. If Mike Pelfrey continues his ascent uninterrupted than the Mets are in for a great season. However I caution you to recognize that Pelfry saw the 4th biggest increase in innings pitched from the prior year. This might cause some temporary setbacks. All in all the pitching will slightly improve.
I'm no Mets expert, but I say that they'll be better this year than last—if they stay healthy that is. If everything turns around for the best, look for the Mets to creep their way back into the top 10 once again. Although the Phillies enter with a higher ranking the Mets GM has closed the gap on the Phillies and could continue to do so during the season. Expect a fight between these 2 for the N.L. East.

3. Florida Marlins (107 Pts)
2009 Season Record: 87-75
Notable Acquisitions: Adam Dunn
Lost: Emilio Bonifacio
The Florida Marlins were ranked No. 16 but do have the potential to move up in the rankings a spot or 2 if their pitching can improve just a little more.
Make no mistake, if they had some money to work with, they'd own the NL East. They finished just six games behind the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Florida was a top five offensive team in the NL last season, as they hit .268/.340/.416 and scored 772 runs. Hanley Ramirez led the team with a .342 batting average and 106 RBI. Ramirez is one of the most exciting players to watch and is highly talented at the young age of 26.
Florida's pitching staff wasn't too bad, either. On the year the staff managed to maintain a 4.29 ERA. Josh Johnson, the team's ace, finished 2009 with a 15-5 record and a 3.23 ERA. If the Marlins can upgrade their pitching staff just a bit or improve upon last season, they could have a shot this year.
My guess the youth of Cameron Maybin and company make this a better team this year than last.

4. Washington Nationals (93 Pts)
2009 Season Record: 59-103
Notable Acquisitions: Yadier Molina, Emilio Bonifacio, Erick Aybar, Freddy Sanchez, Ervin Santana, Gerardo Parra, Raul Ibanez, Brad Lidge, Jose Valverde, Gerald Laird, Mark Derosa
Lost: Josh Willingham, Jesus Flores, Scott Olsen, Adam Dunn
Well, coming in at No. 30 last year was the Washington Nationals.
They had a season to forget in 2009, as they lost 103 games and finished 34 games out of first place.
Offensively in 2009 the Nationals scored 710 runs and collectively hit .258/.337/.406. They were led by Adam Dunn (.267/.398/.529, 38 HR, 105 RBI) and Ryan Zimmerman (.292/.364/.525, 33 HR, 106 RBI). This year that lineup will improve Mark Derosa, Raul Ibanez and some other recent acquisitions.
The Nationals pitching staff can only get better with the acquisition of Ervin Santana and the upcoming future of prospects Luke Hochevar, Wade Davis and Sean West (3 guys I predict will solidify as a young group this year of any in MLB) because it certainly can't get any worse than it was in 2009. The Nationals had the worst pitching the NL with an ERA of 5.00 and an opponent OPS of .802. Wade Davis and Santana immediately improve the staff in a big way. Blue chip young pitchers like Sean West and Luke Hochevar could make this a rotation to be reckoned with.
The Nationals will be headed for a good season in 2010 and will be better than the 59-win team they were last season. With one of the best farm systems in the league the future is bright.

5. Atlanta Braves (85 Pts)
2009 Season Record: 86-76
Notable Acquisitions: Mike Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg, Vladimir Guerrero, Milton Bradley, David Wright
In 2009, the Braves were without Tim Hudson for much of the season, but once he returned he solidified a rotation that ended up with the NL's third best team ERA (3.57). Hudson finished the year 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in 7 starts. So as fate would have it the Braves sent him packing in the first trade of the offseason
Although Javier Vasquez, a big part of the Braves rotation, is now in New York, the Braves will have trouble competing in the NL East.
Offensively, the Braves outscored opponents 735 to 641, giving them a +94 run differential. The Braves as a team managed to bat .263/.339/.405. And by adding David Wright and Vladimir Guerrero, who are both still powerful hitters when healthy, they should resemble last year’s offensive production; Brian McCann will be sorely missed.
Now for the pitching: The Braves made a series of unusual trades and Free Agent signings. They were able to improve their bullpen by adding 2 former closers in Mike Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg. However there are rumors circulating that these additions were signed for the purpose of trading. Who knows maybe packaged up to acquire a SP of a higher caliber. The Starting Pitching became less dynamic with the losses of Tim Hudson, Javier Vasquez and Jaierr Jurrjens. In their place the Braves have gotten younger. The best they can hope for barring a trade is that Tommy Hanson clones himself twice.
All kidding aside the same or better hitting can be expected from these Braves this year. The pitching will come undoubtbly with a lot of growing pains. Perhaps the future will be more meaningful.
Even though they finished seven games behind the Phillies and one game behind Florida, I see the Braves finishing at the middle to bottom of the NL East. While this Division has improved overall I think 80 wins is ambitious from Atlanta in 2010. Last place in the division is the most probable outcome