NL East Season Preview

Questions surround the division on the east coast in the national league this season, and the teams in it. What will Roy Halladay's impact be? Is Jason Heyward the real deal? Can the Mets stay healthy? Will the Marlins contend? Will Stephen Strasburg become a star? The answers are next.

1. Philadelphia Phillies
The reigning back-to-back NL champions should compete for another appearance in the World Series this year. The outfield of Raul Ibañez, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth should provide solid numbers for the Phils, while the infield of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Placido Polanco provides the offensive star power. Behind the plate will be Carlos Ruiz, who provided timely hits late in the postseason for them last year. On the bench, the Phillies have Ben Francisco, Gregg Dobbs, Juan Castro, Ross Gload, and Brian Schneider. Roy Halladay joins the pitching staff in a deal that involved the parting of ways between the organization and Cliff Lee, who was sent to the Mariners. Halladay is predicted by many to win the NL Cy Young, and is joined on the pitching staff by Cole Hamels, JA Happ, Jamie Moyer, and Kyle Kendrick. In the bullpen, Jose Contreras, Antonio Bastardo, and Chad Durbin will pitch a lot. Ryan Madson will start the season as the closer until Brad Lidge returns. Overall, the Phillies have a very good team and will likely play deep into October.

2. Atlanta Braves
After years of making the playoffs, the Braves have restocked for a very plausible playoff run. In the outfield Melky Cabrera, newly acquired from the Yankees for Javier Vazquez, will start in left, with Nate McLouth in center and super prospect Jason Heyward. I believe Heyward will live up to the hype and be a very solid outifielder for years to come in Atlanta. Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar, Martin Prado, and Troy Glaus make up a Braves infield that will provide solid defense and offense. Brian McCann, an all-star catcher, will be behind the plate catching a solid Atlanta rotation. The bench includes David Ross, Eric Hinske, Omar Infante, Brooks Conrad and Matt Diaz. In the rotation, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens and Tim Hudson make up the top part, while prospect Tommy Hanson and Japanese import Kensin Kawakami make up the bottom part of an outstanding group. The bullpen contains Jo-Jo Reyes, Peter Moylan, and Takashi Saito, with Billy Wagner closing. The Braves have a very good pitching staff, and a solid offense. They can definitely make a serious run at a playoff spot this season.

3. Florida Marlins
The Marlins are a very young team in the experienced NL East, but have a very good young core to rely on this season. In the outfield, NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan returns in left field, with top prospect Cameron Maybin in center, and Cody Ross will start in right field. Jorge Cantu will play third, with star shortstop Hanley Ramirez and all-star second baseman Dan Uggla up the middle. At first will be Gaby Sanchez, a solid offensive prospect who needs to develop defensively. John Baker will do the catching for Florida this season. On the bench will be Ronny Paulino, Mike Lamb, Emilio Bonifacio, Brian Barden, and Wes Helms. The pitching staff looks strong with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco at the front. Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad, and Nate Robertson make up the rest of the rotation in Florida. Renyel Pinto will be a key player out of the bullpen, and Leo Nunez will do the closing for the Marlins. The Marlins are definitely on the rise, and I think they will have a better year this year, but still aren't ready for playoff contention.

4. New York Mets
After an injury plagued season cost the Mets last year, they revamped in the free agent market and will try to rebound this year. Recently acquired power hitting left fielder Jason Bay will provide offense, while Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur finish out the outfield. David Wright will try to rebound from his power outage last season, and Alex Cora, Luis Castillo, and Mike Jacobs will finish off the infield. Rod Barajas will be behind the plate catching a pitching rotation headed by Johan Santana. The rest of the rotation is pretty underwhelming, with John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, and Jonathan Niese. Ryota Igarashi and Pedro Feliciano will be good arms out of the bullpen, and Francisco Rodriguez will close out games. I think the Mets have an OK offense, but I don't like the pitching staff enough to put them ahead of the Marlins and Braves.

5. Washington Nationals
The Nationals had a miserable season last year, earning them the top pick in this year's First Year Player Draft, in which they will likely select phenom catcher Bryce Harper. This year, the outfield contains Josh Willingham and Willie Harris on the corners, and rising CF Nyjer Morgan. On the infield, the corners are the strengths, with Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman giving them the offensive spark they need. Veteran Adam Kennedy will start at second, while prospect Ian Desmond gets the nod at shortstop. Ivan Rodriguez will be behind the plate, and the veteran backstop will look to be a mentor to the young pitching staff in Washington. John Lannan has developed into an OK left hander at the top of the rotation, while Jason Marquis, Craig Stammen, and Garrett Mock finish out a mediocre rotation. Stephen Strasburg, the pitching phenom from San Diego State who was drafted in the 2009 Draft, will start the year AAA and could come up to the majors and join the Nationals rotation. The bullpen leaves a lot to be desired, with Brian Bruney, Jason Bergmann, and Miguel Batista in the pen, with Matt Capps in the closer role. The Nationals need to continue to get good prospects and develop them in order to compete in the future, and these next few years will be transitional into the Strasburg/Zimmerman/Harper era.

With the NL East done, I am now done with the National League. Here are my postseason predictions for the NL:
NL West Champ: LA Dodgers (2)
NL Central Champ: St. Louis Cardinals (3)
NL East Champ: Philadelphia Phillies (1)
NL Wild Card: Colorado Rockies (4)
Phillies over Rockies
Dodgers over Cardinals
Phillies over Dodgers
I think the Phillies will make a third straight World Series appearance, with an identical NL bracket against them. Next up will be the AL, which will start in the West and move towards the East. Enjoy this weekend in baseball!