The NL East is likely the weakest division in all of baseball.  Outside of the Mets you have a question mark in the Nationals, and the other three teams are all mediocre.  Last season only the Mets and the Nationals finished above .500, and the Nationals just barely finished above .500 as they only had four more wins than losses.  It will be tough for anyone to dethrone the Mets as long as they have that dominant starting rotation, but maybe the Nationals can be competitive.

5. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies were one of the worst teams in baseball last season and that is not going to change this year.  They have virtually no talent on their roster, and the top prospects in their minor leagues are not ready to be called up yet.   The Phillies traded their best starter, and reliever from last season, leaving them hapless in the pitching department.  The Phillies had the worst record in baseball last year and without any help on the horizon, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish as the worst team in baseball, back to back years. 

4. Atlanta Braves

The Braves had an eventful offseason where they traded away their top starter from last year in Shelby Miller.  While it won’t help them this year, they did acquire some good pieces for the future.  The Braves got their shortstop of the future in Dansby Swanson, a hard throwing right hander in Aaron Blair, and a good, underrated center fielder in Ender Inciarte.

Braves are going to need Inciarte, Swanson, as well as newly signed Hector Olivera to perform if they are going to become threats at the plate.  With only Freddie Freeman as a true threat in the lineup the Braves need other to step up soon if they are to improve upon their 30th ranked offense from a season ago.  While the Braves won’t be good this year there is hope for the Braves hitting in the near future, but their pitching is seemingly a long way off particularly if Manny Banuelos is never able to stay healthy. 

3. Miami Marlins

The Marlins are going to be hard pressed to improve upon their third place finish from last year.  With Don Mattingly managing the team they should be better, but they have a lot of whole on their team.  Unless Giancarlo Stanton can stay healthy the Marlins have zero power on their team.  A lack of power wasn’t the Marlins only problem as that can be overcome if you have a high OBP which the Marlins did not. 

They only ranked 23rd in OBP they do not have the pitching capable of backing up a weak offense.  The Marlins ranked right in the middle in terms of pitching, as they were 15th in ERA.  Until they can get a bonafide number two starter behind Jose Fernandez, and improve upon their bullpen the Marlins will have a tough time competing with the Nationals, and the Mets.

2. Washington Nationals

Unfortunately for the Nationals a new year does not mean a first place finish.  The Nationals still have one of the better rotations in baseball even with the loss of Jordan Zimmermann.  The top three guys in their rotation are very solid, and when healthy can be one of the best top ends of a rotation in baseball.  However, their addition of Jonathan Papelbon lead to the loss of Drew Storen, which is leaving their bullpen a bit thin.  Fortunately for the Nationals, Scherzer goes plenty deep into games, and if Strasburg stays healthy along with Gonzalez, the bullpen won’t be needed very often when they are on the mound. 

If healthy, which is a big if, the Nationals have an offense capable of carrying a pitching staff when they are having a bad day.  The Nat’s ranked 10th in runs last year, and that was with an injured Rendon, Zimmerman, Werth, and big time down seasons from Desmond, and Ramos.  With the emergence of Bryce Harper as a legitimate superstar, the Nationals offense could be one of the better ones in baseball.

1. New York Mets

They say that pitching wins’ championships, well if that is true then the Mets are going to be winning a lot of championships with this starting rotation.  Mets ranked fourth in team ERA last year, but with a full season of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz, this year they will likely improve upon that already great number. 

All of these guys are very young which is going to make the Mets a very dangerous team for years to come, even with a less than stellar bullpen.  The Mets don’t just have a great starting rotation though; they have greatly improved their offense as well.  The Mets made sure to resign Cespedes, as well as going out and signing Asdrubal Cabrera, and Neil Walker.  Cabrera is going while not great is going to be more productive than what they had at shortstop last year, and Walker is an upgrade over Daniel Murphy who really made his name by going off last postseason, not by what he has done throughout his career during the regular season. 

With such a young team that has already experienced success, the Mets are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season, and they may get home field for the playoffs this year.