The National League house the defending World Champions, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one-horse race. While the Phillies will be tough once again, the rest of the division got better in the off-season. The NL East is going to be one of the most highly contested divisions in baseball.

ORDER OF FINISH
Phillies – Until it’s proven otherwise, Philly is still the team to beat. They still have most of the pieces from last year’s championship team. I love the Raul Ibanez signing and see him as upgrade of Pat Burrell and think their top five in the batting order (Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, and Ibanez) is amongst the best in baseball. Cole Hamels showed what he is capable of during the postseason and the rest of the rotation is adequate enough to compete. Brad Lidge was nearly perfect last season as the closer.

Mets – The Mets will move into a new stadium this season, but some of the same old problems exist. They fixed their biggest area of need in the offseason by bringing in Francisco Rodriguez and JJ Putz to complete the backend of their bullpen. The lineup is more than capable of producing runs too. I still have my concerns about the rotation though, particularly if Johan Santana’s arm problems persist. If they can stay healthy look for them to give the Phillies a tough battle and compete for the NL Wildcard.

Braves – I like what Atlanta has done to rebuild their rotation with Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez on top of a couple of young arms (Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami). Tim Hudson is not going to be much of a factor though as he is on the 60-day DL. Offensively there is upside, but Chipper Jones will need to stay healthy to anchor the batting order. Look for improvement in Atlanta this season, but I am not banking on the Braves to leapfrog the division’s elite just yet.

Marlins – Florida seems to be in constant rebuilding mode, but they also always seem to have the young talent to do so. Hanley Ramirez is a MVP-type of player and many other young pieces appear to be in place to make some noise. Still, their rotation is patchwork at best and their bullpen is once again in transition. They will hang around for most of the summer, but once again fade late in this tough race.

Nationals – OK, they have signed Adam Dunn. That gives them some much needed power in the lineup, but expect 200 strikeouts too. If Ryan Zimmerman can finally develop into what many projected him too and their pitching holds up they may actually finish closer than 20 games out this season. Still, they will struggle to see .500 again this year. There is hope for the future in DC though now that GM Jim Bowden is no longer in the picture.


AWARDS
MVP – Ryan Howard, Phillies

Cy Young Candidate – Cole Hammels, Phillies

Biggest Bust – Garrett Anderson, Braves

Biggest Breakout – Yunel Escobar, Braves

Comeback Player – Freddy Garcia, Mets

Rookie of Year – Gaby Sanchez, Marlins

MLB 2009 mlb predictions, nl east, phillies, mets, braves, marlins, nationals