MLB Preview 2018! NL Edition

East

Washington Nationals

It took awhile, but Stephen Strasberg is finally here. He posted a 2.52 ERA last year and looked just solid in his first start this year, giving up one earned run over six and a third innings. He's also not the best pitcher in Washington. That would be reigning Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. On the offensive side, Adam Eaton's back, just in case Bryce Harper and company needed any more help.

New York Mets

I'm not quite as high on the Mets as some are. Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes are both reliable mainstays, but I'm not sold on the rest of the roster. Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey need to prove that they can stay healthy. Their lineup is also surprisingly thin beyond Cespedes. Amed Rosario is intriguing, but if you're betting on prospects to bring you to the playoffs it's a losing battle.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves could surprise some people, especially after Ronald Acuna comes up. Dansby Swanson is only 24 years old and it's way too early to count him out. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman has quietly emerged as one of the best first basemen in baseball. Since 2013 he's averaged 24 homers a year with a .299 batting average. With those three leading the way, if they can get a little help from the pitching staff they could be interesting.

Philadelphia Phillies

This is one of the advantages of writing these a week into the season. I made the predictions a before the season started, but I wouldn't have even mentioned Gabe Kapler. Now he's all I can talk about. Managers like him never succeed. Managers who try so hard to be innovative. It's the managers like Joe Torre or Joe Maddon who do well. They're not trying to hard, what they do is slightly more by-the-book and even natural. But for now I'll enjoy the Kapler experience for a few months. I'm sure the ever-logical Philadelphia fans will understand.

Miami Marlins

Please don't make me write about the Marlins.
Central

Chicago Cubs

It's weird to say this about a team that was considered up-and-coming just two years ago, but we pretty much know what the Cubs are at this point. They'll score a bunch of runs with a lineup led by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, field well and the pitching is just a little shakier. That's the big question with Chicago: how long will the pitching hold up? Lester's 34 and not the pitcher he used be. They signed Yu Darvish, but he's 31. If there's a key player here it's Kyle Hendricks. He had a 3.03 ERA last season and will need to emerge as a number one if the Cubs are going to sustain this.

St. Louis Cardinals*

The Cards had a solid offseason, smartly pillaging the Marlins' sinking ship and coming out with Marcell Ozuna. That's a really good outfield they have along with Tommy Pham and Dexter Fowler. Now, if Carlos Martinez can emerge as a number one they could be looking very, very dangerous.

Milwaukee Brewers

For me, the Brewers are like the Mariners of the NL. Both teams are haven't made the playoffs in at least a few years, look like they potentially have the pieces, but I just can't quite justify picking them. Lorenzo Cain was a cagey signing, and so was trading for Christian Yelich, but Milwaukee's biggest issue last year was pitching and they didn't really address it. No one in their rotation had an ERA under 4.50 in 2017 and I just don't think they'll be able to keep up.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are the early stages of rebuilding. McCutchen and Cole were the first to go, but soon enough Josh Harrison will be gone, quite possibly followed by Starling Marte, leaving the Bucs with the core of Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco. You could build around worse players, but that's a group that isn't making the playoffs until 2020 at the earliest.

Cincinnati Reds

We're about three years past knowing the Reds need more than Joey Votto to compete, and now in the third year of the Reds' front office apparently not getting that memo. Billy Hamilton is always fun to watch and Adam Duvall has some power, but ultimately Cincinnati doesn't have... enough.

West

Los Angeles Dodgers

There isn't a lot to say about the Dodgers because they're bringing back the same team they brought out last year. Hopefully for them, Kershaw will stay healthy and Puig will have his head on straight. Other than that, this is the biggest slam-dunk in the league. 

Colorado Rockies*

This is a critical year for the Rockies. All the pieces are in place, everyone has another year of maturity. They need to take a step forward. Obviously Blackmon, Arenado and LeMahieu perform, but Trevor Story and the pitching staff are crucial. 

Arizona Diamondbacks

This is a very good team who wouldn't surprise me if they made a run. I think A.J. Pollock will take another step forward after his 2016 leg injury and the pitching staff is the same as it was last year. Their biggest issue is the bullpen and that's always easy to find solutions to at the trade deadline.

San Francisco Giants

I'm just not sold with the Giants. For the record, I made these predictions before Madison Bumgarner got injured because even with him there they don't have the pitching and Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria aren't going to change that. Even worse than their pitching last season was their fielding; according to Fangraphs their gloves cost the team 44 runs last year. McCutchen and Longoria won't help enough with that either.

San Diego Padres

They signed Eric Hosmer. Great. They still have a ton of problems and, as much as I like Hosmer, he's not Mike Trout and he and Wil Meyers can't do it by themselves. The roster as a whole just isn't very good. On the other hand, this paragraph is about three times longer than the one I wrote last year so... progress?

Awards

MVP: Nolan Arenado

He's the Manny Machado of the NL, the best fielding third baseman in the league by far and has developed into an excellent hitter. The only thing that can cost him is the annual Coors Field penalty, but I think he his all-around game will be enough to overcome it this year.

Cy Young: Noah Syndergaard

Why not? 2017 was just a speed bump in Thor's career path. He has everything you look for in a pitcher: size, an upper-90s fastball, wipeout slider and terrific hair. He's the full package.

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna

This might be the easiest call in the entire column. Acuna raked in Spring Training and is only in Triple-A now because of service time nonsense. 

Playoffs

Wildcard: Rockies over Cardinals

NLDS: Nationals over Rockies, Dodgers over Cubs

NLCS: Nationals over Dodgers

World Series: Indians over Nationals