Players have reported, sunny grapefruit league games are underway, and baseball fans around the country are getting set for what should be a great season. Here at Top Bet you’ll find all the analysis and lines you need to get into the action as we start our multi-week preview series with a look at the National League East.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The NL East figures to be a two-team race between the Washington Nationals and last season’s winner, the Atlanta Braves. Could the Philadelphia Phillies and/or New York Mets mount a surprising campaign and pose a serious threat to the favorites? Can the Miami Marlins win 80 any games this season? Read on for more.
Brian McCann won’t be in the batting order for the Atlanta, but that doesn’t mean the Braves are going to suffer much offensively this season. Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman are poised to step up their hitting along with holdovers Dan Uggla and Evan Gattis – all four knocked out at least 21 homers in 2013. And despite the departure of Tim Hudson, Eric O’Flaherty and Paul Maholm, the pitching staff is still projected to earn an ERA near to the NL-best 3.18 they put up last season.
Labelled by many as the favorites to win not only the NL East but the World Series last season because of their talent both behind the plate and on the mound, the Nationals disappointingly finished 10 wins behind the division winning Braves. This season linemakers once again have Washington pegged to win the division, and for the same reasons.
The Nationals have a loaded starting rotation, with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann almost surely going 1-2, while new signee Doug Fister (14-9, 3.69 ERA in 2013) adds another major weapon. If the trio of Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, and Jayson Werth can stay healthy this season, a World Series berth is a plausible goal for this stacked Nationals team.
The Mets made headlines by acquiring of Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon in the offseason. Granderson is expected to bring some much-needed power to centerfield for the Queens-based club, while Colon is projected to be the Mets’ No. 1 starter as long as ace Matt Harvey remains on the injured list.
The team is banking on Granderson to return to his 40-homer form to go along with last season’s stand out Eric Young Jr. (.249 AVG, 46 SB in 2013). Meanwhile, David Wright (.307, 18 HRs in 112 games in 2013) will try and anchor an offense that is looking to improve on last season’s 11th-ranked run total of 619.
While it’s true that the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard have aged, that doesn’t mean they can no longer produce significant numbers. If that core could remain healthy throughout the season, the Phillies are bound for a big turnaround. The same is true with their rotation who lost Roy Halladay to retirement but added serviceable veteran A.J. Burnett to work behind Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.
Coming off a 100-loss season, where they placed last in the entire league in runs, hits, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging, the Marlins could easily be that cellar-dwelling team again as the management continues the rebuilding phase. The infusion of young talent and the arrival of veterans Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Rafael Furcal, and Garrett Jones this season offers hope that Miami will avoid the century mark in their loss column, but they are nonetheless the second-longest odd to win the World Series at +10,000.
Major League Baseball’s first regular season game is just three weeks away. Bet on baseball with Top Bet, America’s best online sportsbook.
