Our final roundtable predictions topic is what will the NL East standings look like at the end of the season?
What will be the order of finish in the NL East standings?
(Scott Coleman): Nationals, Mets (Wild Card #1), Marlins, Braves, Phillies
(Kris Willis): Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Braves, Phillies. I think the Nationals are still the class of the division and the Mets can contend for a playoff spot if they can keep their rotation healthy. I have Miami third but I really think the Braves might be able to push them. Phillies are last because well, they are the Phillies.
(Brad Rowland): Nationals, Mets, Braves, Phillies, Marlins. Let’s get weird. Washington is a mortal lock in my mind and I do think the Mets will challenge for a Wild Card spot all the way to the end. How can the Braves finish third when I project them for 76 wins? Well, I’m not a believer in Philadelphia and Miami’s starting pitching is a terrifying mess. Shoot your shot, Braves.
(Ivan): Nationals, Mets (Wild Card No. 2), Marlins, Phillies and Braves tied for last place. Braves get the No. 8 or No. 9 pick in next year’s June draft.
(Garrett Spain): Nationals, Marlins (Wild Card No. 2), Mets, Braves, Phillies. The Nationals will be good as expected, the Mets will do Metsy things and somehow end up outside of the playoffs. The Marlins will be the surprise of baseball, motivated by their desire to look good so the team is easier to sell and they can finally be out from under the dark cloud that is Jeffrey Loria. They’ll still get pummeled in the Wild Card Game, because they lack a go-to starter The Phillies are just the Phillies, and the Braves just aren’t there yet.
(Matt Powers): Nationals, Mets(Wild Card No. 1), Braves, Marlins, Phillies(not much separating the Braves/Marlins/Phillies)
(Demetrius Bell): Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Braves, Phillies. If the Mets are healthy then they’ll be playing in October. If not, this division is going to look a lot like 2016 did, except the basement won’t consist of two utterly bad teams like it did last year. 2018 should be really interesting, though.
(Dillon Cloud): Nationals, Mets (Wild Card No. 2), Braves, Marlins, Phillies. The Nationals are really good again and benefit from the fact that New York literally did nothing to improve this offseason (aside from getting their starters healthy). The Mets will finish with around 84 wins, which puts the Braves mildly in contention for the second Wild Card spot.
(Jeff Jones): Nationals, Mets, Braves, Phillies, Marlins. The Nationals are just too good again this year and if they don’t win the division it will be hilarious. The Mets might miss Bartolo Colon more than they thought but even if Matz, Wheeler and Harvey can’t return from their injuries they still have enough depth in Lugo and Gsellman that they should be around .500. Call me a homer but I think the Braves finish in 3rd and not too far behind New York.
(Eric Cole): Nationals, Mets, Braves, Phillies, Marlins. The top two are pretty easy picks although I have some questions about the Mets. The Phillies have some youth coming but probably are not going to be good for a while and the Marlins are a perennial dumpster fire that lost their best player, all-world pitcher Jose Fernandez, tragically. You see talent on that team every year and they are still always abysmal (sorta like the Nationals come playoff time).
(Kyle Parmley): Mets, Nationals, Braves, Marlins, Phillies. We all know the Nationals will cough it up down the stretch, and if the Braves reach that .500 mark like I predicted, third is a nice spot for them. The Marlins and Phillies still have some work to do.
(Gaurav Vedak): Nationals, Mets, Marlins, Braves, Phillies. I think the Marlins/Braves battle for 3rd while the Phillies fall significantly behind.
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