State of the NL East

For my latest “State Of” piece, I turn my attention to the National League, beginning with the NL East.

1. Washington Nationals: There is an argument for three teams for this top spot, but the Washington Nationals seem to be the most deserving. They have some excellent pitching led by Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark and Jordan Zimmermann, as well as Doug Fister when healthy. They have also seen great RBI production out of Ian Desmond (42 RBIs). Jayson Werth is batting .288 with 33 RBIs and beginning to play up to the massive contract he signed with this team. Add that production to what Bryce Harper will do when he returns, plus the fact Ryan Zimmerman is back in the lineup and this team is built for the postseason. They are going to have to show composure in the divisional race however, or they may be the last wild card team, instead of owning the title of NL East champions.
2. Atlanta Braves: No matter what seems to happen to this team, they always seem to respond. Despite multiple pitchers going down with season ending injuries, this pitching staff is still statistically one of the best in the National League. They have the most quality starts in the majors and rank 5th in team ERA. Julio Teheran is playing great at 6-4 with a 2.41 ERA. Craig Kimbrel is still a lock down closer with 19 saves this year. So why are they number two on this list? A recent slide from 28-21 to 35-32 has seen this team lose its grip on the division. Run production has been very sporadic, as they have shown the ability to score at times, but not consecutively. After a quick home stand against Philadelphia, they have a huge 4 game series at Washington. Success in that series could recreate the separation they once had.
3. Miami Marlins: While pitching has been the strong points of both Washington and Atlanta, its been the offense providing the spark for the Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton is arguably the most explosive player in baseball, batting .301 with 18 HR’s and 54 RBIs. Casey McGehee is batting .309 with an additional 43 RBIs. Marcell Ozuna also has 12 HR’s and 42 RBIs. The offense is obviously potent, but the pitching hasn’t met that standard. Ever since Jose Fernandez went down, its been hard to fill that gap. Henderson Alvarez has been pretty good, but more help is needed. If the Marlins are buyers at the deadline, they could look for an extra pitcher that could keep them around for the long run this season.
4. New York Mets: There is an obvious gap between 3rd and 4th place in this division but the Mets are actually not as bad as people think. It starts with pitching for this team. Bartolo Colon has been rolling ever since mid May and Jonathon Niese has been solid as well with a 2.54 ERA. The offense however, has been horrible. They are 29th in batting average and 23rd in runs scored. Ouch. David Wright still drives in runs (33 RBIs) but this team just doesn’t have the firepower to make a run this year. It looks like another tough year for the Mets but its not all bad. But hey you never know. They are only five games out of the playoffs.
5. Philadelphia Phillies: The most exciting thing to happen in Philadelphia this season was when Jimmy Rollins passed Mike Schmidt to become the Phillies all time leader in hits. After that, there isn’t too much to like. Winning 4 of 6 is nice but now they go on a road trip that features Atlanta and St. Louis. Cliff Lee was pitching pretty well (4-4, 3.18 ERA) but then went on the DL. Cole Hamels is also pitching well but not getting any help on the offensive side. In his past 7 starts, he has only allowed more than 3 runs once (4 runs in a loss) but has only recorded 2 wins in that span. When Marlon Byrd (10 HR’s, 38 RBIs) is the second most productive player behind Ryan Howard, you have a problem. They need help soon or they could become sellers at the deadline (goodbye Cliff Lee?). Only time will tell, but there are a lot of issues with this team.

Tune in for my next “State Of” piece, as I profile the very competitive NL Central!

Note: Stats from ESPN.com