2029 NL East Preview
Oct 15, 2022 12:26:09 GMT -5
Commissioner Erick, Grubs - Philly, and 1 more like this
Post by stlgm on Oct 15, 2022 12:26:09 GMT -5
The NL East came full circle in 2028. Washington, Atlanta, and New York had all taken turns winning the division since Philadephia's last championship in 2024...but the Phillies found themselves back on top. The division did not add much big league talent this past offseason, in fact there seemed to be more departures than arrivals. Philadelphia returns most of it's nucleus, including one of the most electrifying lineups in baseball. Meanwhile the other four teams appear to be in a transitional phase as we near the end of the decade. Let's break them down one-by-one and see what to expect in 2029.
1) Philadelphia Phillies
2028: 93-69, NL East Champions. Lost to Los Angeles 3-4 in the NLDS.
Who They Were: Philadelphia won their first NL East title since 2024. Offensively the team was among the best, ranking #2 in the NL in runs scored, and #1 in HR, SLG, and OPS. That offense was led by the trio of 1B Bobby Siegel, RF Seth Beer, and CF Luis Morales. Siegel led the NL in OPS(1.032) and finished 2nd in the NL in MVP Voting, only missing out due to the amazing season Juan Gestoso had. On the other side, the pitching was mediocre, finishing in the bottom half of the NL in runs allowed. The bright spots mainly came out of the bullpen, led by A.J. Masucci's 2.44 ERA and 4.0 WAR over 114 innings.
Offseason Review: The Phillies let their only worthy starting pitcher walk in FA, Jhoan Duran. 2B J.P. Crawford followed him as the only starting piece of the lineup to walk. The team has yet to make any moves in FA, although still has nearly $30 to spend.
On The Farm: Some of the Phillies pitching woes maybe on the mend soon with OSA #4 prospect Alex Valencia. Valencia struggled in Triple A last season, but has thrown seven shutout innings so far this spring. He likely needs some more seasoning in Triple A, but come have an impact for the Phillies this season. OF Allen Whitmore also looks to be ready for the big leagues and will join a crowded Phillies outfield. Overall, the defending NL East champs boast the league's #4 farm system. Scary thought.
Best Case Scenario: Philadelphia slugs their way to their first World Series appearance since 2020.
Worst Case Scenario: The Phillies get outslugged in the NLDS.
Key Questions:
Your rotation was the Achilles heel in 2028, and is arguably worse this season with the departure of Duran. What's the plan to keep your opponents off the scoreboard?
After back to back 4+ WAR seasons, Bobby Witt was bad last season. He's seems like the odd man out on the team, moving to 2B in 2029 where he has played just three big league games. What are you expecting out of Witt this season?
2) Atlanta Braves
2028: 89-74, 2nd Place NL Central. Lost to St. Louis in Game 163
Who They Were: The Braves featured one of the best pitching staffs in the NL, while the offense was willed on by MVP Juan Gestoso to score just enough runs to win. Starting pitchers Marc Eberle, Pat Cypert, and Kevin Branaccio formed an elite big three in the rotation while close Brian Villeneuve slammed the door shut on opponents with a league-best 39 saves. Gestoso was otherworldly, posting a 9.1 WAR and triple slashing .344/.433/.513 while also stealing 41 bases.
Offseason Review: Gestoso and Steven Williams are in Boston, Eberle and Nate Capriglione were poached by the previous Braves regime now in Toronto, and Shane Shifflett has walked in FA and looks unlikely to return. Statistically speaking, no team had a worst offseason than Atlanta, losing 21.6 WAR.
On The Farm: The Braves farm isn't as deep as it once was, but there is a chance that they could replace some of the talent lost this season with internal pieces. Jeremy Sprow is a very live arm that can give batters fits at the plate, if he can keep his pitches over the plate. Walter Trahan lacks the stamina to go deep into games, but has an amazing fastball/change up combo that will keep opposition guessing. 2026 draft pick Sonny Badillo profiles as an outfield version of Josh Weyer. All three men could be impact players for the Braves as soon as 2029. A name to watch out farther down the organization, pitcher Bob Adams. The lefty was drafted out of high school late in the 1st round last season, and has the league buzzing early on. In 11 starts in Rookie Ball, Adams allowed just 10 runs over 69 innings. Nice.
Best Case Scenario: The Braves muster up enough offense to keep the record respectably above .500.
Worst Case Scenario: The offense doesn't score, the young arms don't perform, and the Braves slip below .500 and the Mets.
Key Questions:
For reasons beyond new management's control, the Braves just aren't the team they were, but there's still some top talent in the organization in Cypert and Branaccio. What is your plan for the Braves organization moving into the future?
Walter Trahan has looked good in his limited innings in Spring Training, but also has yet to play at a level above A+. Between that and his lower stamina, what are your plans for Trahan and how do you expect to utilize him to maximize his talent?
3) New York Mets
2028: 74-88: 3rd Place NL East
Who They Were: The 2028 Mets took another step back, dropping back below .500. It was a totally unspectacular season for the Mets, with no one on the roster winning any postseason awards, and the team's only All Star Andre Stinson being traded promptly after the All Star break. The offense finished among the worst in the league, with only Tomaz Espassandim and Mookie Betts finishing with WAR over 2. The pitching staff showed talent and performed well, but it wasn't enough to get the Mets in the hunt.
Offseason Review: The Mets were extremely active in the offseason. They traded away three of their most promising young players; Espassandim, along with pitchers Ryan Beyer and Liam Thomas. This caused quite the stir in the New York tabloids, but following the trades the Mets do possess one of the league's deepest farms, featuring 39 of OSA's top 500 prospects, most in the league. In addition, no team has added more players to their organization than the Mets, with 24 new additions, headlined by CF Luis Nunez and RF Bill Pollard.
On The Farm: As mentioned earlier, the farm is deep, although it could be argued lacks top end talent. The Mets do have four of OSA's top 30 pitching prospects - lefty Jaak Bos, and righties Fahd Bin Naim, Manny Sanchez, and Jason Partridge. All four men are projected to start the season in Triple A, and could alleviate the pain felt by the departures of Stinson, Beyer, and Thomas sooner than later.
Best Case Scenario: The pitching talent in AAA is ready to play by summer, and combines with the defense-first lineup to flirt with .500 and surpass the Braves.
Worst Case Scenario: The talent losses are too much to overcome, and the team slips into the Washington/Miami realm of bad.
Key Questions:
Two seasons removed from being NL East champions, and still with so much young talent, you decided to flip the roster and restart the rebuild process. What factors played into that decision?
Of the four pitching prospects listed above - Bos, Fin Naim, Sanchez, Partridge - which one's future are you most excited about and why?
4) Washington Nationals
2028: 65-97, 4th Place NL East
Who They Were: 2028 was the official end of an era in Washington. The decade of big spending finally caught up to them as the team posted it's worst record since PBA's inception, while also recording it's lowest season attendance to date and a historically bad financial loss. The offense was bad, the pitching was even worse. Being in the same division as the Marlins was the only thing that saved the Nationals from 100 losses.
Offseason Review: It was a fairly quiet winter for Washington, which didn't have money to spend or assets to trade. Mike Trout and his $533 million contract are finally off the books as he leaves for FA. CF Akil Baddoo left for St. Louis while Luis D. Guzman left for England. What? 3B Bob Beasley was moved to St. Louis following a disappointing 2028. C Logan Ice was signed in FA from Tampa and should give Washington a stable presence behind the plate.
On The Farm: The farm is depleted in Washington. The top talent is pitcher Bendito Facamelo. Facamelo should be able to help the big league team this season, but with only two plus-pitches, he's likely maxed out as a relief arm. Pitcher Earl Morse was acquired in the Beasley trade, but at just 18 years old, his future will depend on how he develops and is likely 3-4 seasons away. Even scarier for the Nats, they've had to cut their expenses in the minors due to the organization's financial situation, and only have a few million set aside for draft signings. It's could be a couple seasons before the team can start restocking.
Best Case Scenario: Eric Pena and Franklin Perez turn back the clock and the Nationals avoid 100 losses.
Worst Case Scenario: Perez is who he is, Pena's best years are behind him, the team loses 100+ games and fails to sign any of their draft picks to start building toward the future.
Key Questions:
Roger Turk got his first taste of big league baseball last season and struggled. He appears to have the potential to be an above average third baseman, and the potential to be an above average bullpen arm. What do you expect out of Turk in his first full season in the bigs?
The Washington organization you inherited is a bit of a dumpster fire. Bad contracts, no money available, no farm to build, no winning to be had. What's the plan over the next season to get things corrected long term?
5) Miami Marlins
2028: 53-109, Last Place NL East
Who They Were: We're going to focus on the positives with the Marlins. The 2028 Marlins scored seven more runs than the previous season. Miami also did not finish last in their division in runs allowed, allowing five less runs than the Nationals last season. And people noticed, with the Marlins drawing 400,000 more fans than the Nats. Miami left fielder Joe White won his second consecutive Gold Glove in left field. White has made just one error over the last two seasons in over 670 opportunities! Catcher Jim Dathe earned his second straight All-Star bid. Dathe says he owes his success to his idol and mentor, David Garcia. And finally, the Miami Marlins won the season series against Milwaukee, taking four out of seven games against the Brew Crew, thus making the Marlins the unofficial 2028 PBA Champions.
Offseason Review: Unfortunately for Miami, they miscalculated in offering RF Jordon Adell, P Ryan Castellani, and P Dillon Overton qualifying offers, which they all accepted. For the cash strapped club, that meant $45 million was invested into the 2.3 combined WAR that those three men provided last season, and left them no money to do anything else in the offseason.
On The Farm: The prize in the Marlins farm is last season's #4 overall pick, Ubbe van Dooren. van Dorren can hit nearly 100 on the radar gun, and has five different pitches he can throw. Right now he's listed as the league's #10 overall prospect. Ubbe is still a couple seasons away from Miami though. In the more immediate future, the righty Bobby Barragan looks like a big league arm with five pitches of his own who could have a spot on the 26 man roster by the All-Star break.
Best Case Scenario: The Marlins surpass the resource-depleted Nationals to get to fourth place...and the Santiago De Cuba Avispas reach the Series Nacional de Baseball World Series again!
Worst Case Scenario: A fifth straight season at the bottom of the NL East, and the Avispas miss the postseason too.
Key Questions:
Who gets the ball on Opening Day for the Marlins, and why?
Why did you offering the Qualifying Offers to Adell, Castellani, and Overton?
1) Philadelphia Phillies
2028: 93-69, NL East Champions. Lost to Los Angeles 3-4 in the NLDS.
Who They Were: Philadelphia won their first NL East title since 2024. Offensively the team was among the best, ranking #2 in the NL in runs scored, and #1 in HR, SLG, and OPS. That offense was led by the trio of 1B Bobby Siegel, RF Seth Beer, and CF Luis Morales. Siegel led the NL in OPS(1.032) and finished 2nd in the NL in MVP Voting, only missing out due to the amazing season Juan Gestoso had. On the other side, the pitching was mediocre, finishing in the bottom half of the NL in runs allowed. The bright spots mainly came out of the bullpen, led by A.J. Masucci's 2.44 ERA and 4.0 WAR over 114 innings.
Offseason Review: The Phillies let their only worthy starting pitcher walk in FA, Jhoan Duran. 2B J.P. Crawford followed him as the only starting piece of the lineup to walk. The team has yet to make any moves in FA, although still has nearly $30 to spend.
On The Farm: Some of the Phillies pitching woes maybe on the mend soon with OSA #4 prospect Alex Valencia. Valencia struggled in Triple A last season, but has thrown seven shutout innings so far this spring. He likely needs some more seasoning in Triple A, but come have an impact for the Phillies this season. OF Allen Whitmore also looks to be ready for the big leagues and will join a crowded Phillies outfield. Overall, the defending NL East champs boast the league's #4 farm system. Scary thought.
Best Case Scenario: Philadelphia slugs their way to their first World Series appearance since 2020.
Worst Case Scenario: The Phillies get outslugged in the NLDS.
Key Questions:
Your rotation was the Achilles heel in 2028, and is arguably worse this season with the departure of Duran. What's the plan to keep your opponents off the scoreboard?
After back to back 4+ WAR seasons, Bobby Witt was bad last season. He's seems like the odd man out on the team, moving to 2B in 2029 where he has played just three big league games. What are you expecting out of Witt this season?
2) Atlanta Braves
2028: 89-74, 2nd Place NL Central. Lost to St. Louis in Game 163
Who They Were: The Braves featured one of the best pitching staffs in the NL, while the offense was willed on by MVP Juan Gestoso to score just enough runs to win. Starting pitchers Marc Eberle, Pat Cypert, and Kevin Branaccio formed an elite big three in the rotation while close Brian Villeneuve slammed the door shut on opponents with a league-best 39 saves. Gestoso was otherworldly, posting a 9.1 WAR and triple slashing .344/.433/.513 while also stealing 41 bases.
Offseason Review: Gestoso and Steven Williams are in Boston, Eberle and Nate Capriglione were poached by the previous Braves regime now in Toronto, and Shane Shifflett has walked in FA and looks unlikely to return. Statistically speaking, no team had a worst offseason than Atlanta, losing 21.6 WAR.
On The Farm: The Braves farm isn't as deep as it once was, but there is a chance that they could replace some of the talent lost this season with internal pieces. Jeremy Sprow is a very live arm that can give batters fits at the plate, if he can keep his pitches over the plate. Walter Trahan lacks the stamina to go deep into games, but has an amazing fastball/change up combo that will keep opposition guessing. 2026 draft pick Sonny Badillo profiles as an outfield version of Josh Weyer. All three men could be impact players for the Braves as soon as 2029. A name to watch out farther down the organization, pitcher Bob Adams. The lefty was drafted out of high school late in the 1st round last season, and has the league buzzing early on. In 11 starts in Rookie Ball, Adams allowed just 10 runs over 69 innings. Nice.
Best Case Scenario: The Braves muster up enough offense to keep the record respectably above .500.
Worst Case Scenario: The offense doesn't score, the young arms don't perform, and the Braves slip below .500 and the Mets.
Key Questions:
For reasons beyond new management's control, the Braves just aren't the team they were, but there's still some top talent in the organization in Cypert and Branaccio. What is your plan for the Braves organization moving into the future?
Walter Trahan has looked good in his limited innings in Spring Training, but also has yet to play at a level above A+. Between that and his lower stamina, what are your plans for Trahan and how do you expect to utilize him to maximize his talent?
3) New York Mets
2028: 74-88: 3rd Place NL East
Who They Were: The 2028 Mets took another step back, dropping back below .500. It was a totally unspectacular season for the Mets, with no one on the roster winning any postseason awards, and the team's only All Star Andre Stinson being traded promptly after the All Star break. The offense finished among the worst in the league, with only Tomaz Espassandim and Mookie Betts finishing with WAR over 2. The pitching staff showed talent and performed well, but it wasn't enough to get the Mets in the hunt.
Offseason Review: The Mets were extremely active in the offseason. They traded away three of their most promising young players; Espassandim, along with pitchers Ryan Beyer and Liam Thomas. This caused quite the stir in the New York tabloids, but following the trades the Mets do possess one of the league's deepest farms, featuring 39 of OSA's top 500 prospects, most in the league. In addition, no team has added more players to their organization than the Mets, with 24 new additions, headlined by CF Luis Nunez and RF Bill Pollard.
On The Farm: As mentioned earlier, the farm is deep, although it could be argued lacks top end talent. The Mets do have four of OSA's top 30 pitching prospects - lefty Jaak Bos, and righties Fahd Bin Naim, Manny Sanchez, and Jason Partridge. All four men are projected to start the season in Triple A, and could alleviate the pain felt by the departures of Stinson, Beyer, and Thomas sooner than later.
Best Case Scenario: The pitching talent in AAA is ready to play by summer, and combines with the defense-first lineup to flirt with .500 and surpass the Braves.
Worst Case Scenario: The talent losses are too much to overcome, and the team slips into the Washington/Miami realm of bad.
Key Questions:
Two seasons removed from being NL East champions, and still with so much young talent, you decided to flip the roster and restart the rebuild process. What factors played into that decision?
Of the four pitching prospects listed above - Bos, Fin Naim, Sanchez, Partridge - which one's future are you most excited about and why?
4) Washington Nationals
2028: 65-97, 4th Place NL East
Who They Were: 2028 was the official end of an era in Washington. The decade of big spending finally caught up to them as the team posted it's worst record since PBA's inception, while also recording it's lowest season attendance to date and a historically bad financial loss. The offense was bad, the pitching was even worse. Being in the same division as the Marlins was the only thing that saved the Nationals from 100 losses.
Offseason Review: It was a fairly quiet winter for Washington, which didn't have money to spend or assets to trade. Mike Trout and his $533 million contract are finally off the books as he leaves for FA. CF Akil Baddoo left for St. Louis while Luis D. Guzman left for England. What? 3B Bob Beasley was moved to St. Louis following a disappointing 2028. C Logan Ice was signed in FA from Tampa and should give Washington a stable presence behind the plate.
On The Farm: The farm is depleted in Washington. The top talent is pitcher Bendito Facamelo. Facamelo should be able to help the big league team this season, but with only two plus-pitches, he's likely maxed out as a relief arm. Pitcher Earl Morse was acquired in the Beasley trade, but at just 18 years old, his future will depend on how he develops and is likely 3-4 seasons away. Even scarier for the Nats, they've had to cut their expenses in the minors due to the organization's financial situation, and only have a few million set aside for draft signings. It's could be a couple seasons before the team can start restocking.
Best Case Scenario: Eric Pena and Franklin Perez turn back the clock and the Nationals avoid 100 losses.
Worst Case Scenario: Perez is who he is, Pena's best years are behind him, the team loses 100+ games and fails to sign any of their draft picks to start building toward the future.
Key Questions:
Roger Turk got his first taste of big league baseball last season and struggled. He appears to have the potential to be an above average third baseman, and the potential to be an above average bullpen arm. What do you expect out of Turk in his first full season in the bigs?
The Washington organization you inherited is a bit of a dumpster fire. Bad contracts, no money available, no farm to build, no winning to be had. What's the plan over the next season to get things corrected long term?
5) Miami Marlins
2028: 53-109, Last Place NL East
Who They Were: We're going to focus on the positives with the Marlins. The 2028 Marlins scored seven more runs than the previous season. Miami also did not finish last in their division in runs allowed, allowing five less runs than the Nationals last season. And people noticed, with the Marlins drawing 400,000 more fans than the Nats. Miami left fielder Joe White won his second consecutive Gold Glove in left field. White has made just one error over the last two seasons in over 670 opportunities! Catcher Jim Dathe earned his second straight All-Star bid. Dathe says he owes his success to his idol and mentor, David Garcia. And finally, the Miami Marlins won the season series against Milwaukee, taking four out of seven games against the Brew Crew, thus making the Marlins the unofficial 2028 PBA Champions.
Offseason Review: Unfortunately for Miami, they miscalculated in offering RF Jordon Adell, P Ryan Castellani, and P Dillon Overton qualifying offers, which they all accepted. For the cash strapped club, that meant $45 million was invested into the 2.3 combined WAR that those three men provided last season, and left them no money to do anything else in the offseason.
On The Farm: The prize in the Marlins farm is last season's #4 overall pick, Ubbe van Dooren. van Dorren can hit nearly 100 on the radar gun, and has five different pitches he can throw. Right now he's listed as the league's #10 overall prospect. Ubbe is still a couple seasons away from Miami though. In the more immediate future, the righty Bobby Barragan looks like a big league arm with five pitches of his own who could have a spot on the 26 man roster by the All-Star break.
Best Case Scenario: The Marlins surpass the resource-depleted Nationals to get to fourth place...and the Santiago De Cuba Avispas reach the Series Nacional de Baseball World Series again!
Worst Case Scenario: A fifth straight season at the bottom of the NL East, and the Avispas miss the postseason too.
Key Questions:
Who gets the ball on Opening Day for the Marlins, and why?
Why did you offering the Qualifying Offers to Adell, Castellani, and Overton?
