MLB: Ranking the Best Divisions in 2017
By Anthony Sosa
NL East
The Nationals finished tied for the second best record in baseball last season, and they have a good chance to repeat that success in 2017. There’s also a chance the Nats regress a bit in 2017. They’ll still be the best team in the division, but they have a few more question marks this coming season.
They no longer have a designated closer in their bullpen. They’ll use either Shawn Kelley or Blake Treinen for save situations. They also traded two of their top pitching prospects, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, along with Dane Dunning for scrappy center fielder Adam Eaton. The move is questionable, to say the least.
There are still questions about Bryce Harper heading into 2017. If he bounces back and performs like he did in 2015, the Nats might be even better than last season.
In 2016, the Mets finished second in the NL East. They finished eight games behind the Nats for the division lead, and finished with the No. 1 Wild Card spot. The Mets should consider that successful because of the many injuries their starting rotation suffered throughout the season.
With an injury-plagued 2016 in the rear-view mirror, perhaps the Mets win the division in 2017, but they’ll have to prove they can stay healthy first.
And then there’s the Marlins. The shocking death of Jose Fernandez is still going to hinder this team in 2017. Not only is the team going to have recover from the loss of their teammate, but also their ace pitcher. Fernandez played a huge role for this team. They have a good lineup, but their rotation is weak. The Marlins have a small chance of finishing .500 and a slimmer chance of winning the East.