Post by Commissioner Erick on Mar 12, 2024 6:52:58 GMT -5
Last year’s NL East was a wasteland that the Mets seized with 100 wins. This year looks like more of the same. The Phillies will let us know early if they could make some noise in the division, but this could also be another year with four losing teams in the division.
1) New York Mets
2031: 101-61, NL East Champions. Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in NLDS
Who They Were: The Mets built a special pitching staff the dominated opponents. Jeff Morrison finished with a 1.94 ERA and was arguably worse than Eric Pena, who revitalized his career with 5.2 WAR in New York. Despite the team leading in virtually all pitching categories, there were concerns about how the Mets would fare in the playoffs due to a lackluster offense, and the Mets scored only 13 runs in getting swept out of the NLDS by the Dodgers.
Offseason Review: It’ll be a fairly different looking team this year. Kevin Truitt will be replaced by Darwinzon Hernandez in the rotation. Joe Swetz will take over for Gilberto Flores behind the plate, while Andy Fleck and Jim Sattler come over from Minnesota to replace Yusniel Diaz and Jesus B. Sanchez. Denny Marchwinski gives the team some power at DH. Chris Paramore is the new utility infielder and Hector Jimenez kicks out Joe Rizzo at First Base. The elite 2031 rotation returns to terrorize the NL East, and the hope is the new additions make the offense more potent.
On The Farm: The Mets have one of the worst farms in baseball, using up much of their prospect capital to put together their awesome staff. Sam Rockefeller could hold his own at Third Base in a year, and Alex Servantez could be a fifth outfielder, pinch running for a slower Left Fielder. There aren’t any impactful prospects below them in the low minors, and the pitching prospects are non-existent. New York is heavily leveraged for the short term.
Best Case Scenario: The offense holds up and the Mets pitch their way to the World Series
Worst Case Scenario: An older team sees some regression and the Mets lose the Wild Card Game
Deciding Questions: You’ve remade your offense a bit. Do you feel like it’s good enough to produce in the playoffs at the moment?
Right now you have six starting pitchers for five spots. Who locks down the fifth starter job?
2) Philadelphia Phillies
2031: 77-85, 2nd Place NL East
Who They Were: A cursed season, the Phillies saw so many players disappoint and couldn’t even finish .500 a year after 100 wins. Seth Beer took a small step back in his age 34 season, while Allen Whitmore ran a 400-meter race in the same direction. The infield didn’t hit, the rotation struggled after the first two spots, and 23 pitchers pitched for the Phillies as they tried to find answers. The team sold off after the first few months, seeing the writing on the wall.
Offseason Review: The team may look vastly different this year. Seth Beer is likely gone, as are veteran Royce Lewis, and young Jayden Mingo. Ron Dahl plugs in to help fill an outfield spot, and Brian Radcliff provides some infield production. Brian Villeneuve takes over for the departed A.J. Masucci. The team is still missing a couple of bats to replace Beer, but has the budget space to make a signing when comp tags clear.
On The Farm: There’s some talent—most of it is in the low minors, but Philadelphia is taking the first steps to a strong farm. J.W. Mirza is the prize of the system, he projects to have a special bat, with OSA maxing out his hit tool and power. Jerrod Early won’t stick at Shortstop, but his power will likely stick in the middle of a lineup. There are a bunch of infielders who will stick in the infield and provide good power, and while Marco Negrette is likely a reliever long term since he’s saw raw, he has a shot to develop into a Starting Pitcher if everything works out. There aren’t many prospects in the upper minors, but there are a lot of depth pieces to fill gaps.
Best Case Scenario: New York struggles, and Philadelphia wins a weak division.
Worst Case Scenario: Opposing pitchers realize Seth Beer is no longer on the team
Deciding Questions: You lost a lot of talent with Beer in Free agency and other stars shipped out last year. Do you feel you’ve been able to replace your talent and contend for the playoffs?
Will Bill Burns be your opening day Shortstop?
3) Atlanta Braves
2031: 64-98, 4th Place NL East
Who They Were: The team continued to struggle under Julio Arroyo’s austerity, as finances are a major problem in Atlanta. Sonny Badillo hit .195, turning back into a pumpkin, and while the club had some power hitters, nobody hit for average, resulting in Atlanta finishing second from the bottom in runs. Kevin Brancaccio disappointed in the rotation, and Jim Morgan disappointed both on the mound and at the plate. In years past, Atlanta’s pitching could cover for a mediocre offense, but both elements were worse in 2031.
Offseason Review: Atlanta lost longtime pitching standout Kevin Brancaccio, slugger Jake Sanfilippo, and solid Shortstop Tony Ryan. They added Jay Tudor and Jeff Burton to comprise what should be a strong rotation though. Prospect Jordan Cabral should debut to replace Sanfilippo’s power with some batting average upside if he develops, but the offense should still struggle.
On The Farm: Cabral could break camp with the team and Mike Crutchfield won’t be too far behind him as a starting pitcher who can miss bats. There isn’t a blue chip prospect behind them though, which hurts Atlanta with their rebuild.
Best Case Scenario: Atlanta can win 75 games behind a good staff and Cabral.
Worst Case Scenario: The Braves bat .220 as a team.
Deciding Questions: You have some pop, but few of your players can hit for a decent average. How much of that is by design, and how much is you being constrained by what’s available?
You gave Jay Tudor a nice long contract. Why did you target him this offseason?
4) Washington Nationals
2031: 70-92, 3rd Place NL East
Who They Were: Washington had a respectable offense last year, undone by the worst run prevention in the league. Closer Jaquan Chassagne’s 1.8 WAR was third most on the team as the club lacked high-end pitching. The team had a decent bullpen, but the starters couldn’t miss bats and a defense with the second worst zone rating in the league couldn’t help them.
Offseason Review: Washington signed a pair of young, PBA-ready arms that have room to develop in Jara Ojo and Vic Davies, shrewd moves given their place in the contention cycle. However, between that duo and Tsuro Toguchi, Washington may be spending a ton of money on pitchers that need to be seasoned in Triple-A this year. Trent Clark comes over to be budget Jahmai Jones, while R.J. Jarrett was claimed on waivers to give the team some more pop. Good veteran arms Johan Oviedo and Hans Crouse left the team, but the young free agent signed should replace them.
On The Farm: Washington has the best farm in the league with 10 Top 100 prospects. The team has a trio of elite outfield prospects in the low minors in Luis Rosario, Lothar van den Hout, and Shigeru Yamauchi. Last year’s first round pick Cambo Riesgo is a year away from cracking the team’s rotation, with other arms on the prospect rankings expected to debut this year.
Best Case Scenario: The young pitching is good early and Washington challenges for a winning record.
Worst Case Scenario: The arms are still too young, and the Nationals finish last in the NL East.
Deciding Questions: You have so many young arms with major league contracts and options remaining, like Vic Davies, Jara Ojo, and Tsuro Toguchi. Will they all debut with the team or will you manage their service time?
You have a veteran-laden lineup. Will they be dealt as the season progresses or will you try to win with them?
5) Miami Marlins
2031: 63-99, Last Place NL East
Who They Were: Miami lost fewer than 100 games for the first time in 2024 with easily their best team in nearly a decade. They were even well over .500 into May. The team’s defense remained strong and helped out a serviceable rotation with Omar Lara locking down the ninth inning with 37 Saves. The offense remained poor, but Sean Jennings and Chucky Newton look like fantastic young talents, and Victor Robles and Jaden Ancrum were very productive for the team. Since the Marlins were no longer trotting out eight minor leaguers and Joshua Lowe, their offense was at least competitive, but the team still had weak spots on the infield and behind the plate.
Offseason Review: Jaden Ancrum is elsewhere and Silvino Bracho retired, but there are few losses from last year’s team. Kevin Magyar and Enrique Valdez are strong defenders brought over to play middle infield, but Mickey Moniak and Luis Almazar are solid hitters who can boost the lineup. The rotation isn’t good, and Catcher is a dead spot, but with some incumbent youngsters and respectable veterans, this should be the best Marlins team in years.
On The Farm: Last year’s fifth overall pick Cosmos Kraft looks like an offensive star who can hit the ball out of this world. Ray Chotkowski looks like a number two starting pitcher. Neither are very close to the PBA, but should be good when they arrive. Stacey Prins should provide some pop when he arrives. The Marlins still don’t have a great depth of talent in the farm surrounding their elite prospects though, which could hurt their rebuild.
Best Case Scenario: Miami finishes third in the division
Worst Case Scenario: The pitching staff can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat for a second straight year
Deciding Questions: Your team looks competitive, but you signed a lot of free agents to multi-year deals, and don’t have a lot of supporting talent coming up through the farm. Are you worried you’ve gotten stuck going all in with this team if it can’t make the playoffs?
Chris Karren and Alex Fernandez were extremely unproductive the last few years. Did you think of upgrading the Catcher spot?
1) New York Mets
2031: 101-61, NL East Champions. Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in NLDS
Who They Were: The Mets built a special pitching staff the dominated opponents. Jeff Morrison finished with a 1.94 ERA and was arguably worse than Eric Pena, who revitalized his career with 5.2 WAR in New York. Despite the team leading in virtually all pitching categories, there were concerns about how the Mets would fare in the playoffs due to a lackluster offense, and the Mets scored only 13 runs in getting swept out of the NLDS by the Dodgers.
Offseason Review: It’ll be a fairly different looking team this year. Kevin Truitt will be replaced by Darwinzon Hernandez in the rotation. Joe Swetz will take over for Gilberto Flores behind the plate, while Andy Fleck and Jim Sattler come over from Minnesota to replace Yusniel Diaz and Jesus B. Sanchez. Denny Marchwinski gives the team some power at DH. Chris Paramore is the new utility infielder and Hector Jimenez kicks out Joe Rizzo at First Base. The elite 2031 rotation returns to terrorize the NL East, and the hope is the new additions make the offense more potent.
On The Farm: The Mets have one of the worst farms in baseball, using up much of their prospect capital to put together their awesome staff. Sam Rockefeller could hold his own at Third Base in a year, and Alex Servantez could be a fifth outfielder, pinch running for a slower Left Fielder. There aren’t any impactful prospects below them in the low minors, and the pitching prospects are non-existent. New York is heavily leveraged for the short term.
Best Case Scenario: The offense holds up and the Mets pitch their way to the World Series
Worst Case Scenario: An older team sees some regression and the Mets lose the Wild Card Game
Deciding Questions: You’ve remade your offense a bit. Do you feel like it’s good enough to produce in the playoffs at the moment?
Right now you have six starting pitchers for five spots. Who locks down the fifth starter job?
2) Philadelphia Phillies
2031: 77-85, 2nd Place NL East
Who They Were: A cursed season, the Phillies saw so many players disappoint and couldn’t even finish .500 a year after 100 wins. Seth Beer took a small step back in his age 34 season, while Allen Whitmore ran a 400-meter race in the same direction. The infield didn’t hit, the rotation struggled after the first two spots, and 23 pitchers pitched for the Phillies as they tried to find answers. The team sold off after the first few months, seeing the writing on the wall.
Offseason Review: The team may look vastly different this year. Seth Beer is likely gone, as are veteran Royce Lewis, and young Jayden Mingo. Ron Dahl plugs in to help fill an outfield spot, and Brian Radcliff provides some infield production. Brian Villeneuve takes over for the departed A.J. Masucci. The team is still missing a couple of bats to replace Beer, but has the budget space to make a signing when comp tags clear.
On The Farm: There’s some talent—most of it is in the low minors, but Philadelphia is taking the first steps to a strong farm. J.W. Mirza is the prize of the system, he projects to have a special bat, with OSA maxing out his hit tool and power. Jerrod Early won’t stick at Shortstop, but his power will likely stick in the middle of a lineup. There are a bunch of infielders who will stick in the infield and provide good power, and while Marco Negrette is likely a reliever long term since he’s saw raw, he has a shot to develop into a Starting Pitcher if everything works out. There aren’t many prospects in the upper minors, but there are a lot of depth pieces to fill gaps.
Best Case Scenario: New York struggles, and Philadelphia wins a weak division.
Worst Case Scenario: Opposing pitchers realize Seth Beer is no longer on the team
Deciding Questions: You lost a lot of talent with Beer in Free agency and other stars shipped out last year. Do you feel you’ve been able to replace your talent and contend for the playoffs?
Will Bill Burns be your opening day Shortstop?
3) Atlanta Braves
2031: 64-98, 4th Place NL East
Who They Were: The team continued to struggle under Julio Arroyo’s austerity, as finances are a major problem in Atlanta. Sonny Badillo hit .195, turning back into a pumpkin, and while the club had some power hitters, nobody hit for average, resulting in Atlanta finishing second from the bottom in runs. Kevin Brancaccio disappointed in the rotation, and Jim Morgan disappointed both on the mound and at the plate. In years past, Atlanta’s pitching could cover for a mediocre offense, but both elements were worse in 2031.
Offseason Review: Atlanta lost longtime pitching standout Kevin Brancaccio, slugger Jake Sanfilippo, and solid Shortstop Tony Ryan. They added Jay Tudor and Jeff Burton to comprise what should be a strong rotation though. Prospect Jordan Cabral should debut to replace Sanfilippo’s power with some batting average upside if he develops, but the offense should still struggle.
On The Farm: Cabral could break camp with the team and Mike Crutchfield won’t be too far behind him as a starting pitcher who can miss bats. There isn’t a blue chip prospect behind them though, which hurts Atlanta with their rebuild.
Best Case Scenario: Atlanta can win 75 games behind a good staff and Cabral.
Worst Case Scenario: The Braves bat .220 as a team.
Deciding Questions: You have some pop, but few of your players can hit for a decent average. How much of that is by design, and how much is you being constrained by what’s available?
You gave Jay Tudor a nice long contract. Why did you target him this offseason?
4) Washington Nationals
2031: 70-92, 3rd Place NL East
Who They Were: Washington had a respectable offense last year, undone by the worst run prevention in the league. Closer Jaquan Chassagne’s 1.8 WAR was third most on the team as the club lacked high-end pitching. The team had a decent bullpen, but the starters couldn’t miss bats and a defense with the second worst zone rating in the league couldn’t help them.
Offseason Review: Washington signed a pair of young, PBA-ready arms that have room to develop in Jara Ojo and Vic Davies, shrewd moves given their place in the contention cycle. However, between that duo and Tsuro Toguchi, Washington may be spending a ton of money on pitchers that need to be seasoned in Triple-A this year. Trent Clark comes over to be budget Jahmai Jones, while R.J. Jarrett was claimed on waivers to give the team some more pop. Good veteran arms Johan Oviedo and Hans Crouse left the team, but the young free agent signed should replace them.
On The Farm: Washington has the best farm in the league with 10 Top 100 prospects. The team has a trio of elite outfield prospects in the low minors in Luis Rosario, Lothar van den Hout, and Shigeru Yamauchi. Last year’s first round pick Cambo Riesgo is a year away from cracking the team’s rotation, with other arms on the prospect rankings expected to debut this year.
Best Case Scenario: The young pitching is good early and Washington challenges for a winning record.
Worst Case Scenario: The arms are still too young, and the Nationals finish last in the NL East.
Deciding Questions: You have so many young arms with major league contracts and options remaining, like Vic Davies, Jara Ojo, and Tsuro Toguchi. Will they all debut with the team or will you manage their service time?
You have a veteran-laden lineup. Will they be dealt as the season progresses or will you try to win with them?
5) Miami Marlins
2031: 63-99, Last Place NL East
Who They Were: Miami lost fewer than 100 games for the first time in 2024 with easily their best team in nearly a decade. They were even well over .500 into May. The team’s defense remained strong and helped out a serviceable rotation with Omar Lara locking down the ninth inning with 37 Saves. The offense remained poor, but Sean Jennings and Chucky Newton look like fantastic young talents, and Victor Robles and Jaden Ancrum were very productive for the team. Since the Marlins were no longer trotting out eight minor leaguers and Joshua Lowe, their offense was at least competitive, but the team still had weak spots on the infield and behind the plate.
Offseason Review: Jaden Ancrum is elsewhere and Silvino Bracho retired, but there are few losses from last year’s team. Kevin Magyar and Enrique Valdez are strong defenders brought over to play middle infield, but Mickey Moniak and Luis Almazar are solid hitters who can boost the lineup. The rotation isn’t good, and Catcher is a dead spot, but with some incumbent youngsters and respectable veterans, this should be the best Marlins team in years.
On The Farm: Last year’s fifth overall pick Cosmos Kraft looks like an offensive star who can hit the ball out of this world. Ray Chotkowski looks like a number two starting pitcher. Neither are very close to the PBA, but should be good when they arrive. Stacey Prins should provide some pop when he arrives. The Marlins still don’t have a great depth of talent in the farm surrounding their elite prospects though, which could hurt their rebuild.
Best Case Scenario: Miami finishes third in the division
Worst Case Scenario: The pitching staff can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat for a second straight year
Deciding Questions: Your team looks competitive, but you signed a lot of free agents to multi-year deals, and don’t have a lot of supporting talent coming up through the farm. Are you worried you’ve gotten stuck going all in with this team if it can’t make the playoffs?
Chris Karren and Alex Fernandez were extremely unproductive the last few years. Did you think of upgrading the Catcher spot?
