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National League East: What Needs to go Right for Each Team

By Michael Francis

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 07: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game Three of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 7, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 07: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game Three of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 7, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Washington Nationals Third Baseman Anthony Rendon
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

The Washington Nationals

The Nationals have the best roster on paper coming into the season. Even after all the moves that the Phillies and Mets made, the Nationals top to bottom look to be the class of the division. Being the favorites they are, the Nationals really just need to stay healthy and meet their projections in order to have a good season that should result in a trip to the playoffs.

While the Nationals have studs all over the field there isn’t a whole lot of talent behind the starters. For instance Anthony Rendon is projected to be a 5 win player according to Fangraphs which is great but him getting injured at any point this season would mean a lot more Wilmer Difo than the Nats want to see. The starting rotation is also extremely talented but quite thin. If Max Scherzer were to go down for a long stretch, they would essentially be out of the race. Not to mention that Stephen Strasburg always seems to have some sort of ailment every year. There’s obviously a ton of talent on the team, but they have to stay healthy for it to matter.

The Nationals also have several wild card players that are going to have to live up to their projections in order to fend off the National League East competition. Juan Soto had probably the greatest teenage season of all time last season and is projected to repeat that performance in 2019. Newly acquired Brian Dozier is expected to bounce back and be a 2 and a half win player for them, while Adam Eaton is also expected to finally produce a 3 win season after failing to record even 2 WAR in either of the past two seasons. The pitching staff is also relying heavily on a repeat performance of Anibal Sanchez‘s 2018 season as well as a bounce back season from Trevor Rosenthal. The Nationals will likely need all of these players to live up to these projections to come away victorious in the 2019 National League East.

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