The National League East has always been known for making headlines and 2014 looks to be no different. Whether it is Bryce Harper crashing into right-field walls, or B.J. Upton striking out to his heart's desire; there is always something to feast your eyes upon. The 2013 NL East season was a very interesting one. The Atlanta Braves dominated the Washington Nationals on all levels and things finally reached its boiling point when Stephen Strasburg threw three pitches in a row at Braves' shortstop Andrelton Simmons. The Braves shocked a lot of people last year as they beat the Nationals 13-6 in head-to-head play.

That is all in the past now and headlines for 2014 are already heating up. Below is the five biggest storylines for the NL East.

5. Can Jose Fernandez repeat?

At only 21 years of age, Fernandez showed everyone that he will be around for a long, long time. In 28 starts he pitched 172.2 innings of work, while racking up 187 strikeouts. He ended the season with an ERA of 2.19. That 2.19 was the lowest ERA of all starting pitchers minus some Cy Young Winner named Clayton Kershaw over in Los Angeles. Even if you take out the fact that this guy is untouchable on the mound you can still find other reasons to love his game. When he is out on that diamond you can tell he is playing for the love of baseball and has a smile on his face at all times. The scariest part about Fernandez is that he can get better, if that is even humanly possible. If he has a repeat performance of 2013 and exceeds the 200 innings mark you may just see this young blood taking home some major hardware. The Rookie of the Year award will soon be just an afterthought. As Lil Wayne once said, “the sky’s the limit”. But for Fernandez the moon might be a more accurate description.

4. Will B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla rebound?

Bossman Junior and the Ugster are the two highest paid players on the Atlanta Braves. If you only watched the National League Divisional Series in 2013 you would think I was lying. Uggla didn’t even make the playoff roster and B.J. batted three times in four games and struck out every time. Unfortunately for Frank Wren and the Braves they are going to have to deal with this for at least one more season. Uggla will have to fight for a starting spot come spring training but is still set to be paid $26.4 million over the next two years.  Upton on the other hand will have another year to try and prove himself. This team can not afford to sit him on their bench with him eating up $75 million of their payroll.

Now it’s time to put into perspective just how bad these two were last year. Uggla had the third most strikeouts in the NL at 171, followed by Justin Upton (161) and B.J. at 151. Justin is the only exception to this list because he still hit .260 with 27 homers and 70 RBIs. The fact that the Braves still managed to win the East with so much struggle is impressive. If B.J. and Uggla do what they did in 2013 they will not be playing for the Atlanta Braves in 2015. 2014 will be a make or break year for both of these men.

3. What Should You Expect from Danny Espinosa?

One of the stranger performances of the year comes from the National community and Mr. Espinosa. Projections were through the roof for this guy coming in 2013 after a 2012 that showed 17 homers, 56 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The fact that he was only going to be 26 coming into the season also made so many experts very high on him. Than 2013 started and the nightmare of a season began. Danny ended up playing in only 44 games due to nagging injuries and ended the season with a .158 batting average. The sole question that remains is what in the world should we expect from him this season. If he is healthy he could bat .250 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs but if he continues to get hurt he is going to become a has been that never was. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to this guy.

2. Can the Atlanta Braves repeat as NL East Champs?  

The Braves had an amazing season that showed a lot of power along with a lot of strikeouts. The offense got most of the spotlight but it was the pitching staff that proved to be the foundation for this winning ballclub. This team quietly recorded the best team ERA in baseball at a mark of 3.18. The second best ERA was almost an entire .10 point higher at 3.25 which was the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mike Minor, Kris Medlen and Julio Teheran pitched remarkable and are all homegrown talent which will be around for a long time.

This team did lose some very big names as All Star catcher Brian McCann signed a deal with the New York Yankees and veteran pitcher Tim Hudson took his talent to the San Francisco Giants. While the Braves stayed quiet for the most part in the offseason the Nationals were gearing up to take back what they believe is theirs.

1. Do the Washington Nationals Have the Best Rotation in Baseball?

The expectations are at an all time high for the Nationals after proclaiming World Series or bust last season. The fact that they added Doug Fister to their rotation makes this team scary good. Let’s really take a look at how ridiculous this rotation can be if healthy.

2013 stats

• Stephen Strasburg: 3.00 ERA, 183 IP, 191 k’s and .207 opponent batting average. (OBA)
• Gio Gonzalez: 3.36 ERA, 195.2 IP, 192 k’s, and .231 OBA
• Jordan Zimmermann: 3.25 ERA, 213.1 IP, 161 k’s and .239 OBA
• Doug Fister (Detroit Tigers): 3.67 ERA, 208.2 IP, 159 k’s and 44 walks

The five spot in the rotation is still up for grabs but the one through four pitchers on this team are all potential All Stars. The addition of Fister makes the Nationals the favorite to win the NL East and will rely on their pitching to get them to the promise land. It is hard to argue against the Nationals as the best rotation in the league.