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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.