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2024 Miami Marlins season preview: The 3 NL division winners and Wild Cards
The Miami Marlins will try to return to the Postseason for the second straight year
If a couple of things go right, the Miami Marlins can dream on making the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Better health could make all of the difference and "anything can happen in the playoffs" as they say... I consulted MLB.com projected team rosters for this.
The Miami Marlins will try to return to the playoffs for the second season in a row...for the first time.
NL EAST
The Miami Marlins have a deep rotation even with all of the injuries, and when everyone is healthy it could be one of the best rotations in the game. Jesus Luzardo, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett... the staff looks very good. The bullpen has one of the best closers in the game in Tanner Scott. Tanner had the highest WAR of all closers in 2023. The lineup will determine how The Fish do. If CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. finally stays healthy and if any the bats take steps forward.... this is a playoff team.
The Philadelphia Phillies have a loaded lineup headed by 1B Bryce Harper, DH Kyle Schwarber and SS Trea Turner. The rotation is solid and the bullpen looks good too, though it's the team's most volatile area. It's hard to see a scenario where they don't give Atlanta a run for the division.
The Atlanta Braves have a loaded lineup too, headed by RF Ronald Acuna Jr., 1B Matt Olson, 3B Austin Riley and 2B Ozzie Albies among others. The rotation might be a bit shaky, with Max Fried missing most of last season, Charlie Morton's age and Chris Sale's recent injury history. The bullpen looks solid.
The Washington Nationals are a clear last place team with a weak roster all-around. I don't see a point of even breaking down the obvious.
The New York Mets have a weak rotation and a shaky bullpen (minus closer Edwin Diaz of course.) Their lineup looks good however, led by 1B Pete Alonso and S Francisco Lindor.
Projected finish:
1. ATLANTA BRAVES
2. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
3. MIAMI MARLINS
4. NEW YORK METS
5. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
NEXT: THE WORST DIVISION IN THE LEAGUE
NL CENTRAL
The Chicago Cubs have a solid rotation fronted by 2023 NL Cy Young contender Justin Steele, and featuring the likes of Kyle Hendricks and Shota Imanaga, The lineup has good defense, but lacks certainty, as does the bullpen.
The St. Louis Cardinals may be the most complete team in the division, featuring a solid inning-eating rotation, a solid bullpen and a promising lineup. 1B Paul Goldschmidt having a big contract year and/or RF Jordan Walker or DH Nolan Gorman taking steps forward will most likely win them the division.
I'm not high on the Cincinnati Reds, whose pitching is a lot of upside mixed with a ton of uncetainty. This also stretches into their lineup, filled with more promise than experience. They overachieved last season and will come back down to earth this season.
The Milwaukee Brewers have a better lineup, but still not as good as Chicago's o St. Louis's. They have a strong bullpen but will miss injured CP Devin Williams. The rotation got worse as well. They should be in contention for the division, but the lineup didn't improve enough and the rotation declined too much.
I'm not sure what to say about the Pittsburgh Pirates, other than that they're the worse version of their rivals in Cincinnati.
Projected finish:
1. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
2. CHICAGO CUBS
3. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
4. CINCINNATI REDS
5. PITTSBURGH PIRATES
NEXT: THE FINAL DIVISION
The Colorado Rockies are just plain bad. I don't think that there's a point in describing why they'll be competing with Washington for the title of worst team in the league. They have a horrible pitching staff and a below average lineup.
The San Francisco Giants didn't improve their weak lineup enough. DH Jorge Soler will spend the season innured or struggling as he usually does. 3B Matt Chapman won't hit any better in that park. They have a strong top of the rotation and a good bullpen, so should be in the Wild Card mix.
The Arizona Diamondbacks got hot at the right time last season. I just don't buy their bullpen or lineup, not enough proven middle of the order bats. They improved their rotation, but it won't be enough to overtake LA.
The Los Angeles Dodgers may not be in the news for good reasons lately, but they're the best team in the division by far. Shohei Ohtani at DH, 1B Freddie Freeman, SS Mookie Betts, an improved rotation, a solid bullpen...they're the team to beat here.
The San Diego Padres have a weakened lineup after trading Juan Soto. They also have a worse bullpen and rotation. Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove aren't aces and Michael King has less than 10 Major League starts to his name. Dylan Cease may be better than last season, but that will hardly be enough to top LA. They'll be a fun mess this season.
Projected finish:
1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
2. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
3. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
4. SAN DIEGO PADRES
5. COLORADO ROCKIES
PLAYOFF SEEDS DIVISION WINNERS: 1. ATLANTA 2. LA 3. ST. LOUIS
NL WILD CARDS: 4. PHILLY 5. ARIZONA 6. MARLINS
NL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS: MARLINS BEAT ST. LOUIS; PHILLY BEAT ARIZONA
NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLY BEAT ATLANTA; MARLINS BEAT LA
NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLY BEAT MARLINS
WORLD SERIES: YANKEES BEAT PHILLY
The New York Yankees are better than Houston this season, so I expect them to finally pull that off. The Phillies have Atlanta's number so to speak and LA always falter in the Division Series lately. Keep in mind that these are all just predictions and anything can happen in the playoffs. Case in point: Philly in 2022 and Arizona in 2023.
Next. 2024 season predictions part 1. 2024 season predictions part 1. dark