National League East predictions

National League East

1) Washington Nationals — This division shapes up as the easiest to project, in my opinion, with the Nationals leading the way as arguably the best team in baseball (on paper). Much will be made of Stephen Strasburg’s supposedly unhindered return to the rotation, but his success is mostly a given. It’s the rest of the rotation, namely Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman, that will need to duplicate last season’s effectiveness for the team to approach 100 wins. Look for Bryce Harper to close the gap between he and Mike Trout in their fictitious, media-fueled competition for best young phenom status.

2) Atlanta Braves — Not insignificantly, the offseason hype surrounding this team’s additions (namely Justin and B.J. Upton) seems to have glossed over the departures of some valued contributors in the process. Gone are Chipper Jones (retired), Michael Bourn (Indians) and Martin Prado (Diamondbacks), which in all likelihood will result in something of a wash in terms of offensive output over last season. The focus probably should be on Kris Medlen and the key question of how closely he can come to repeating the dominance he displayed in the final six weeks of last season once he shifted into the rotation.

3) Philadelphia Phillies — Here’s a team featuring a curious mix of old and young, promising and pathetic. I’ll start by saying I no longer believe in the once great Roy Halladay. He had a nice decade-long run of dominance, but his declining velocity and health will amount to an unremarkable (and likely abbreviated) 2013 season. The acquisitions of both Delmon Young and Michael Young should make the Phillies the butt end of many jokes this season, as the two ranked among the very worst position players in the majors last year and were awarded prominent roles in Philadelphia nonetheless. Domonic Brown is the guy to watch, as a former elite prospect finally in line for a sufficient helping of playing time.

4) New York Mets — The Mets got a pair of nice prospects in return for trading R.A. Dickey (whose memoir I highly recommend), but as a result are left with just one genuine impact player, David Wright. Jonathan Niese could be poised for a breakthrough season in the rotation, along with Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee. The trouble is, much of the lineup is filled with players that look more like placeholder youngsters rather than the future core of a contending team.

5) Miami Marlins — Owner Jeffrey Loria stripped the team down to nearly nothing again this offseason, leaving just one compelling player on the roster — Giancarlo Stanton. His trade out of town is inevitable, as the pricy years of arbitration approach. Expect Stanton’s name to be tossed haphazardly around at the trade deadline in July, but ultimately look for the Marlins to pull the trigger on a trade following the season. As for an on-the-field prediction for the 2013 Marlins, I propose simply that the National League’s worst team will reside in a sparkling new, 75 percent empty stadium in south Florida.