The NL East division is up for grabs. Entering play today on June 5th the entire division is only separated by 6.5 games. While most of the teams in this division have shown flashes of taking off, not one of them have been able to. The games played from now until the All-Star break will determine a lot to see whether teams are contenders or pretenders, but I think we might see a close race for the NL East title throughout the whole season.
Atlanta Braves (31-27)- The Atlanta Braves continue to lead the division, but maybe not for long. Going in with a division tie with the Marlins, Atlanta swept a three game series in Miami giving them a three game lead in the division, but after having a day off last Monday the Braves played the Seattle Mariners in a quick two game series and got swept. Meanwhile, the Marlins have won their last three games leaving the Braves with just a 0.5 game division lead. Atlanta has been very inconsistent recently. When the offense does well, their pitching gives up the lead, and when the pitching does it’s job, the offense gets shut out. This season has been all or nothing for the Braves, they will have to find a way to get back on a hot streak if they want to stay in first place in the division. The emergence of rookie Shae Simmons has helped the Braves bullpen plenty. Simmons has already drawn some comparisons to Craig Kimbrel so that’s a great sign. Meanwhile pitchers Jordan Walden and Jonny Venters continue to work on their rehabs to try and improve a Braves bullpen that has under achieved from what they had been the last couple of season’s.
Miami Marlins (31-28)- The question surrounding the Marlins is “How long can they keep it up?”. After they lost their ace Jose Fernandez to Tommy John surgery it appeared that they could quickly fall off the face of the Earth, but they have done a great job to maintain themselves in the hunt. The offense has been key to the Marlins production. Giancarlo Stanton now has the protection in the lineup that he didn’t have last season with Casey McGehee and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. With Stanton continuing to carry this team it seems that the Marlins could take first place in the division in these next days. The fish have won their last three games against the Rays and maintain themselves just half a game behind the Braves. With the Braves idle today, Miami has a chance to tie with them once again in the division.
Washington Nationals (29-28)- Washington have been full of injuries to some of their key players. Doug Fister, Ryan Zimmerman, and Bryce Harper were all hurt at one point, but they’re beginning to get healthy. Ryan Zimmerman has recently come back and should provide a nice spark to the offense that at times has also been anemic. Doug Fister has also shown signs of being the Doug Fister of old. If the Nationals can get it together they can also be a force, at only a game above .500, they are 1.5 games behind first place. Once the sexy pick to win the division, Washington will have to overcome their slow start.
New York Mets (28-31)- The New York Mets continue to hang around. They appear to have found a new closer in Jenrry Mejia and even though they fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens and have gone through some tough times they are still in this race. Zack Wheeler hasn’t been doing as well as expected and the loss of Matt Harvey is not helping the cause. Either way the Mets still have some competitive players in David Wright and Daniel Murphy. Curtis Granderson got off to a slow start, but has picked it up a little recently. The Mets remain 3.5 games behind in the NL East, but I think the deficit will grow with teams like the Marlins and Nationals playing better than them at the moment.
Philadelphia Phillies (24-33)- What can I say about the Phillies? They currently stand with a five game losing streak and don’t appear to be getting any better. Chase Utley has been playing well all season and Ryan Howard has been getting better recently, but they should be sellers sooner or later this season. The Phillies face the same problem as their previous couple of seasons, they are getting older. I would not be surprised if they try to trade some of their veterans like Marlon Byrd for some prospects in return. The Phillies might be at their worst point in the season right now.
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