2024 Division Outlook: NL East

Welcome back to the final round of the division preview series, this time heading back home to the East Cost portion of the NL and tackling the familiar National League East. The NL East is a very top heavy division, with a lot of talent living in the top two or three teams in the division. The Braves are obviously the favorites, but the Phillies are only a couple years removed off a World Series appearance. You never know what might happen in baseball, but the Mets, Marlins, and Nationals all look to be weaker squads this season. With that being said, the division looks to be competitive at the top, with a chunk of talent to be showcased. Now, let's dive in and preview the National League East for the 2024 season.

Atlanta Braves

Key Additions
- LHP Chris Sale
- RHP Reynaldo Lopez
- OF Jarred Kelenic
- LHP Aaron Bummer

Key Loses
- OF Eddie Rosario
- RHP Kirby Yates
- RHP Kyle Wright
- RHP Michael Soroka

The Atlanta Braves have won the National League East in each of the last six seasons, and look to continue that elite trend this season. They have the roster to do so, losing some of their role players but keeping all of their stars and adding good pieces throughout the offseason. There is little reason to not trust Brian Snitker's squad in 2024, but the injury of Spencer Strider is a major storyline to keep an eye on.

The lethal attack of the Atlanta Braves lineup will return in 2024, as their offensive core is up there in the elite level in all of baseball. Their offensive core consists of Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson. Acuna is obviously coming off his 2023 MVP campaign, where we saw him become the first player ever to reach 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases in a single season. The sky is the limit for the former MVP and his bat is a big reason behind Atlanta's recent success. Matt Olson had an insane power surge last year, clubbing 54 long balls in his second season in Atlanta. Albies and Riley have become additional consistent run producers in the heart of Atlanta's lineup. That group is just the top four of the offensive attack, as Atlanta then turns to Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris II, and Orlando Arcia. With Sean Murphy already on the shelf, Travis d'Arnaud will take on the bulk of the catching duties for Atlanta to begin the season, but he has proven he is more than capable of handling that role. Offseason acquisition Jarred Kelenic wraps up the lineup for the Braves, as he enters the season in a platoon-type role split with Adam Duvall.

On the pitching side of things, the Braves have already taken a massive hit with Spencer Strider hitting the IL. The extent of his injury is still unknown, but we have already seen a couple aces go down this season with similar injuries that needed Tommy John surgery, so hopefully Strider doesn't fall into that hole. The Braves rotation can still be good, but losing your ace that is also a top 5 pitcher in baseball will only ever hurt a team. Max Fried will take over as the ace, a role he owned before Strider. Chris Sale, looking for a fully healthy season, will follow suit as the number two guy behind Fried, as Charlie Morton and Reynaldo Lopez wrap up the current rotation. It will be interesting to see if the Braves look internally or externally for their number five starter now, but the Braves pitching staff as a big hole to climb out of now. While Strider's health is obviosuly a glaring concern, the Braves still have the team to take home the NL East crown once again.

Team MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr.

Team Cy Young: Max Fried

Team X-Factor: Spencer Strider's health

The Nationals will host the Braves for a four game series from June 6-9, and a two game set from September 10-11. The Nats will then head down to visit Atlanta for sets from May 27-30 and August 23-25.

Miami Marlins

Key Additions
- C Christian Bethancourt

Key Loses
- DH Jorge Soler
- INF Joey Wendle
- RHP David Robertson
- 1B Yuli Gurriel

The Miami Marlins made the postseason last year, but got bounced by the Phillies in two games. Entering his second season at the helm, Skip Schumaker looks to get this team back into the playoffs, but has a steep road ahead of him. The Marlins roster is not too deep, and the injury bug has already attacked their squad.

The Marlins lineup features some strong hitters, headlined by Luis Arraez. The former batting champ and elite contact hitter will leadoff for the Marlins again. Josh Bell, Jake Burger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., project to follow Arraez in the lineup as three guys that can be run producers. The issues with those three names is the fact that while they can be great offensive contributors at times, they can also go frozen cold with the bat at other times and create a hole in the linuep. Jesus Sanchez and Bryan De La Cruz are two outfielders the Marlins hope to see some improvements from, as while the duo have each shown their fair share of talent, they have also shown massive inconsistencies. Veterans Tim Anderson, Nick Gordon, and Christian Bethancourt wrap up Maimi's lineup, one that projects to be in the latter half of the league in terms of production.

Where Miami has shined in recent years is their rotation, as they have churned out a Cy Young award winner in Sandy Alcantara, along with a number of strong pitching weapons. Unfortunately for Miami, the injury bug has already struck their pitching staff. The aforementioned Sandy Alcantara, along with Eury Perez, Edward Cabrera, and Braxton Garrett all started the season on the IL, with the first two already being ruled out for the season due to Tommy John surgery. The latter two, Cabrera and Garrett, both hope to rejoin Miami's rotation in the next few weeks. That leaves Miami's rotation in an interesting spot as of right now, as four of their five starters are actually southpaws. Jesus Luzardo, who turned out a very strong season last year, is ready to return as the ace of the staff. A.J. Puk is attempting to turn into a starter, who looked great in Spring Training, but unfortunately those results did not carry over into the regular season. Ryan Weathers, the former top prospect in San Diego's system, is hoping to get himself right this year, along with Trevor Rogers. Max Meyer, a top Miami pitching prospect, is getting his first taste of the Major Leagues this year and hopes to be another pitching weapon churned out off the Miami lab. Overall, between those that are healthy and those that are not, the Miami has a great mix of pitchers to work together for the 2023 season, but will the pitching be able to overcome a rather lackluster offense? I think not.

Team MVP: Luis Arraez

Team Cy Young: Jesus Luzardo

Team X-Factor: The whole lineup

The Nationals will visit Miami for series from April 26-29 and September 3-4, and host the Marlins for sets from June 14-16 and September 12-15.

Philadelphia Phillies

Key Additions
- RHP Aaron Nola
- LHP Kolby Allard
- UTL Whit Merrifield
- RHP Spencer Turnbull

Key Loses
- 1B Rhys Hoskins
- RHP Craig Kimbrel
- RHP Michael Lorenzon

The Philadelphia Phillies, only a couple years removed from their World Series appearance, head into 2024 with big ambitions once again. They may not have the roster that can dominate the regular season the way the Braves and Dodgers do, but the Phils can turn into the most fearful team come October. Rob Thomson enters another year as the Phillies manager as Philadelphia has their eyes on taking home the Commissioner's Trophy in 2024.

The top of the Phils lineup kills me as a Nationals fan, with former Nationals Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper creating a three headed monster at 1-2-3. Just like with the top of the Mets lineup, Rob Thomson knows what he is getting out of the top of his lineup. Schwarber is one of the biggest "three true outcome" hitters in all of baseball, with a chunk of his plate appearances ending in either a strikeout, walk, or home run. Two time MVP Bryce Harper enters the season as a full time first baseman now, while maintaining elite offensive talent. Veterans J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos extend the Phillies lineup, adding a lot of power and offensive contributions, with Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott adding to that. A lot of the rest of the Phillies lineup contains platoon-type roles, with Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Edmundo Sosa, Whit Merrifield, and Cristian Pache all rotating throughout the bottom third of the of the lineup. Overall, this Phillies lineup is very deep, and could very well finish in the top three of offenses in the National League.

The Phillies rotation remained intact from last season, as the Phillies inked Aaron Nola to a seven-year deal to keep the right hander in Philly. Nola returns to Philly as the "second ace," working behind workhorse Zack Wheeler, who also got an extension. The two create a powerful tandem at the top of the Phillies rotation, with southpaws Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez following. Sanchez hopes to follow in Suarez's footsteps as a reliever-turned-starter in the Phillies rotation. The final spot belongs to Taijuan Walker, but he begins 2024 on the IL, so free agent Spencer Turnbull, who turned in a very impressive first start, gets to hold it down for now. Expect the Phils to return to the postseason once again.

Team MVP: Bryce Harper

Team Cy Young: Zack Wheeler

Team X-Factor: The Bullpen

The Nationals hosted the Phillies for three games from April 5-7, and will do the same from September 27-29. Philadelphia will host the Nats for series from May 17-19, and August 15-18.

Washington Nationals

Key Additions
- 1B/OF Joey Gallo
- 3B Nick Senzel
- RHP Dylan Floro
- OF Eddie Rosario
- RHP Derek Law
- RHP Matt Barnes

Key Loses
- 1B Dom Smith

The Nationals are our team obviously, and with that, I won't spend too much time covering a team we are all relatively familiar with. The Nationals, now in year five of the rebuild, aim to do the same thing they did the past previous years - watch the young guys progress and continue to build to the future. The success will be hard to find this year in terms of wins and loses, but if the young guys improve and have their bright spots, then some can classify the year as a whole a success.

The Nationals lineup is comprised of young players that hope to be a part of the future, along with veterans hoping to keep their MLB careers alive. The main guy that will take a lot of the attention in the Nationals lineup will be young stud CJ Abrams. The young shortstop has shown his speed and athleticism throughout his young professional career, but looks to take that next big step in 2024 and improve in all areas of his game. Abrams shines when he pulls the ball in the air, and has seemed to already make some progression in that direction this year. More consistently smart swing decisions with increased elevation of the ball will directly lead to increased Abrams success, as he can create havoc when he gets on base. Keibert Ruiz, Luis Garcia Jr., and Trey Lipscomb join Abrams in that category, as all three could be pieces of the future. Ruiz and Garcia have each shown their ability to drive the ball at times, but can't seem to put it together at a consistent rate, putting them in a tough spot with their defensive woes on top of it all. Lane Thomas looks to repeat his great 2023 season, although it does look to be a tall task. Veterans Joey Gallo, Jesse Winker, Joey Meneses, and Eddie Rosario make up the rest of the lineup, as the veterans all look to contribute somewhere and potentially find themselves somewhere else after the deadline. While on the shelf now, Victor Robles and Stone Garrett should be fun additions when they are healthy and ready to come back.

On the pitching side, there are some, but few, bright spots to watch for the Nationals. MacKenzie Gore has ace potential written all over him, but it is up to Jim Hickey and the Nationals development system to tap into that talent. The flashes are there, but can Gore keep it all together and remain consistent is the question. 2023 All Star Josiah Gray is off to a horrid start this year, and now unfortunately finds himself on the IL with an elbow and foreman issue. Jake Irvin is another young arm to keep an eye on, as the tall right hander showed his fair share of potential throughout the 2023 campaign as well. Cade Cavalli aims to come back around July, as the former top Nationals pitching prospect hopes to have a strong second half of the year to build into next year with. Veterans Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams wrap up the rotation for now, and I'd rather not speak on either of them. Funny enough, despite being an overall weak team in 2024, the Nationals look to have a decent bullpen. Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey will hold things down on the back end, with arms like Jordan Weems, Dylan Floro, Derek Law, and Matt Barnes holding down the middle innings. Overall, it is once again a rebuilding season for the Nationals, as they look more towards the future and building for that time.

Team MVP: CJ Abrams

Team Cy Young: MacKenzie Gore

Team X-Factor: Josiah Gray

The National League East looks to be a top-heavy division in 2024, with the Braves and Phillies fighitng it out at the top. The Mets have a roster that might be able to compete, and the Marlins went to the postseason last year, but neither of the teams look too strong in a more competitive NL playoff picture. The Nationals will hopefully take strides forward, like they did last year, but won't quite reach the competitive window yet. To wrap everything up, here are my division predictions for the NL East in 2024:

1. Atlanta Braves (99-63)
2. Philadelphia Phillies (91-71)
3. New York Mets (80-82)
4. Miami Marlins (79-83)
5. Washington Nationals (71-91)