Photo Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
With the AL division predictions done, the NL division is up next. Even though the games don’t end until October, the NL division seems to be setting themselves up for an interesting season. With some familiar teams, like the Cardinals, looking to remain atop their division and some teams, like the Nationals and Dodgers, who are trying to make a deep playoff run finally, the National League has a lot of hungry and determined teams.
NL East: Like most divisions, the top 3 contenders are very close. Currently, the top 3 are Washington Nationals, followed by the New York Mets and then the Atlanta Braves. While the beginning of the season looked like the Mets would become division champs, the Washington Nationals look like the team to beat. Outfielder Bryce Harper is certainly a key piece to the Nationals success, showing that even though he is young, he still has the drive and the abilities of a far older player. It doesn’t hurt that Harper has hit 25 home runs this seasons, leaving him tied at the 3rd most in the league. The Nationals also hold the highest winning percentage in the NL East with a .541 while the Mets trail at .517 which as I predict is going to be the curve that keeps them on top. I predict that the Washington Nationals will clinch the NL East Division.
NL Central: As if this winner is the biggest no-brainer of them all, it’s the St. Louis Cardinals. While the Pirates look like they could make it (if they consistently win games), the Cards already have over 50 wins, all without some of their star players. The loss of Matt Holliday and Adam Wainwright has not seemed to affect the rest of the Cards in the slightly, especially in terms of winning. Michael Wacha is certainly making the loss of Wainwright seem like a distant memory, since he’s already racked up 86 strikeouts and, of course, Carlos Martinez is certainly showing that Wacha isn’t the only good pitcher on the team. The Cardinals are also never short of stars, considering that 5 of their players have now been drafted on the All-Star Game roster with the possibility of Carlos Martinez making the cut too. With the highest winning percentage in NL Central, a team dedicated to winning and a roster full of all-stars, I predict that the Cardinals will dominate and clinch the NL Central division.
NL West: Last but certainly not least is the NL West. Right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the few teams in the MLB with 50 wins under their belt and have clinched the division title for the past two years. As if that isn’t enough, the Dodgers also have a pretty diverse roster in terms of age and abilities among other factors. Their roster is partly due to their extremely large payroll but regardless of money, their pitchers seem to be the stars in Los Angeles. One of the most talented on their roster has to be Clayton Kershaw. While Kershaw is not playing as well as last year, it looks like things are starting to turn around for him especially with him being one of the few healthy pitchers on the team. In terms of stats, the Dodgers have the highest winning percentage with a .568 and are on a 3-win streak that they hope to continue. Right now, it looks like their streak is not to end anytime soon which is why I predict the Los Angeles Dodgers to be the winners of the NL West Division.
