NL East Preview

One week of college basketball down, one week closer to Opening Day. Time for the National League previews.

Talk about a division with some interesting story lines. Can the Mets young rotation be stopped? Can the Nationals put together a complete season? Will the Marlins find a way to get over the hump. We will take a look at what the National League East has to bring to this 2016 season and give you where we think they will finish in the end.

Division Winner New York Mets (2015 Record 90-72)

This is another one of those times where its tough to go against the champs. The Mets have an amazing crop of young, hard throwing starters. Jacob DeGroom, Noah Syndergaard, and Matt Harvey look to continue to grow. The trio struck out a combined 559 batters during the regular season. To make matters worse for the rest of the NL East, Zach Wheeler should be coming back from surgery and add yet another flame thrower to the Mets rotation. Jeurys Familia returns as the anchor to the bullpen which has lost some big pieces from last years playoff run. Tyler Clippard was not resigned and Jenrry Mejia has been banned from baseball for failing his third drug test.

As for the offense, they have lost a big piece on the right side of the infield. Daniel Murphy was unconscious during the playoff run and left during the off season to join the Washington Nationals to add an intriguing rivalry. The Mets did retain the other mid season add and keep Yonies Cespedes to a three year deal, even if most people think that he will opt out after the end of this season. David Wright looks to stay healthy all season and lead this team to back-to-back division titles,while Neil Walker will fit nicely at second base after losing Murphy.

Washington Nationals ( 2015 Season 83-79)

The Nationals watched as the Mets sprint to the division crown after getting swept in September. The Nationals made some wholesale changes with Dusty Baker taking the helm. Jordan Zimmerman left for the Detroit Tigers and Fister went to Houston. The team is looking to have Joe Ross and Tanner Roark to take over the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation but dont be surprised to see Lucas Giolito, the Nationals number one prospect, take the mound at some point this season. If Max Scherzer can keep it going for a whole season and if Stephen Strasburg pitches the way he did in the second half could mean good things. Johnathan Papelbon and Bryce Harper have apparently settled their differences and Papelbon will try to guide the bullpen for a full season without Drew Storen.

As for the offense, Harper looks to go for the triple crown this year after clubing 42 HRs and a .330 batting average and winning the NL MVP. Danny Espoinosa seems to be the new starting second basemen if Trea Turner is not ready to go. Anthony Rendon slides back over to third base where he feels more comfortable and where he made a splash during 2014. Ryan Zimmerman looks to stay healthy all year, while Murphy looks to fit in to his new club. Ben Revere has big shoes to fill in center field and in the lead off spot when Denard Span signed with the San Francisco Giants. This is still a team that could score the third most runs the majors like they did last year.

Miami Marlins (2015 Season 71-91)

Things in Miami could be very interesting this year. They have brought in some experience at manager with Don Mattingly who is a night and day upgrade from the Marlins General Manager turned Manager experiment. With Mattingly at the helm, the Marlins look to continue to push the Nationals and Mets for respect in the NL East. They rewarded Dee Gordon this offseason and made him the man in charge in the infield after hitting .333 and picking up 58 SBs. The youth on this team could scare anyone. Gioncarlo Stanton should be back in time for camp after being injured on and off last season. Christan Yelich and Marcell Ozuna finish out an outfield that can rob opposing hitters from a lot of extra base hits.

Jose Fernandez looks healthy and is going to try and put together a star quality season. The team added Wei-Yin Chen to the rotation but after that the Marlins need some more consisted starting pitching to make a deeper run. Tom Koehler has been up and down but has not put together a full season in the majors. AJ Ramos comes into the season as the teams closer after saving 32 games last season. The Marlins are never content with their roster so dont be suprised if this team looks different around All Star time.

Philidelphia Phillies (2015 Season 63-99)

The Phillies are in full on rebuild mode. They moved Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley last year to make room for younger infielders like Freddy Glavis and Cesar Hernadnez. Ryan Howard is the last remaining holdout from the team that was so dominant in the early 2000s. Peter Bourjos signed in the off season after spending time with the Angels and Cardinals. Maikel Franco has been a revelation this spring. Franco has 7 HRs so far and looks to carry that power into the regular season. If he can keep this up, the Phillies are looking for him to become that young face leading the way out of the NL East basement.

Jeremy Hellickson is going to try and recreate his rookie season in 2011 where he struck out 117 in 189 innings of work. After that season though his ERA has ballooned and he has had a hard time staying healthy. Problem for the Phillies is that as of today, he is the teams best option as a number one starter. The bullpen is also a mixed bag of new faces and young arms looking to make their big break. This season could be a long one for the fans in Philly, but there are somethings to be excited about on the left side of the infield.

Atlanta Braves (2015 Season 67-95)

Fire sale may be one way to describe the Braves right now. Freddie Freeman is one of the few familiar faces left from the Opening Day roster last season. The Braves traded away their All Star shortstop Androlton Simmons and brought in Erick Aybar to fill the void. This team as a lot to be desired for offense. Ender Inciarte could be part of that answer. Last season, Incaiarte hit .308 and stole 21 bases and he is looking to keep it going after being sent to Braves as part of the trade that sent Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks.

The Braves rotation has a plenty of holes. Julio Tehran will be the teams Opening Day starter if he can stay healthy. Behind him are an army of young arms looking to make an impact for the first time. Matt Wisler will be a factor in his first full season. In only 19 games last year, Wisler struck out 72 batters. There will be a lot of potential for this team, just probably not this year.

Feature image by Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports