NL East/NL Central

By Dr. Jekyll,

NL East

Atlanta Braves: Behind one of the best pitching staffs in the league and rookie phenom Jason Heyward, the Braves look darn good. The middle of the lineup still doesn’t have as much punch as you’d like to see in a possible world series team, but Bobby Cox’s rotation is top to bottom one of the three best in the league. Who would be looking forward to facing Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hanson in the playoffs? No one, that’s who. If the lineup can keep up its timely hitting, Cox will have to do his best to not be ejected from a World Series game.

Philadelphia Phillies: This was not supposed to happen. The Phillies are a much better team than their record, but with a rotation that can’t seem to just get it’s finger on the right spot and a lineup that’s struggles have gone on for too long, they’ll be pushing for the wild-card/division heading into the last week of the season. Roy Halladay was still a great pickup, but the Phils must be kicking themselves for not keeping Cliff around to put them in a far more secure position. This is an underperforming ball-club that just needs to get a few hitters hot to make a run at the postseason. The wild-card looks like a dogfight.

New York Mets: Speaking of underperforming ball-club’s, this one was at least expected. The Mets consistently have a competitive team on paper, but this year, much like the last two, looks to end in early disappointment. Apart from Johan, the rotation is an absolute mess. David Wright has absolutely no supporting cast this season. The Mets should really suck it in and just accept this as a lost season at .500 baseball, but they’ll probably make ill advised trade runs before the deadline. Short of an Atlanta-esque Troy Glaus style turnaround, the Mets are sunk.

Florida Marlins: If a team can feel good about playing awful baseball, it’s the Marlins. After all, they’re only supposed to make World Series runs every seven years anyways. The great young rotation, highlighted by soon to be Cy Young award winner Josh Johnson, will be well in its prime by the time they have that seven year run ready for them. Dan Uggla is a beast, and it’s only a matter of time until the pieces fit around him. Two more years til the right crew gets to bring their talents to South beach.

Washington Nationals: This is the kind of team local fans love to get behind. They’re not ready yet, but when you watch them get together you can see it all taking shape. Jordan Zimmermann is going to be an absolute stud in that rotation, as he readies to return from injury after what started last season as a stellar career. He’d be an excellent number one in most big league rotations, but apparently he’s taking a back seat to some Strasburg kid. It’d be great for them to keep Adam Dunn around, as a tutor of the long ball to whoever comes in after him, but this is a team that wasn’t expected to do much but is slowly shaping up to be great.

NL Central

This division was always going to be won and lost on the first basemen, it just didn’t shape up the way some of us, namely me, predicted.

Cincinnati Reds: Assuming he stays healthy, Joey Votto is the league MVP, and he’s needed every bit of this breakthrough season in order to keep the Reds fending off the Cardinals in this division. Scott Rolen has dipped into the fountain of youth just enough to give this team a shot at playoff glory, and Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, and Johnny Cueto have put together a surprisingly stable top of the rotation. IF they can hold of Phat Albert and the gang, this team can do damage.

St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols is having an off year. Which is saying a lot when you realize that he’s still hitting .301 with a .962 OPS. Yeah, off year. Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are pitching well, but this is just a really average team with one great player in a division with two of the worst clubs in baseball. If the Cards keep beating up on the little guys, they can keep making a push for the division. Look for this race to be decided with about four days to go in the season.

Milwaukee Brewers: Again, a very average team, much like the Cardinals (or really the Reds for that matter), but they can prey on the weak links in the division. Prince Fielder should be moved by the end of the trading deadline, and if not him than future all-star Corey Hart. This team has been meddling at .500 for what seems like an eternity. They should really take the opportunity to rebuild while they have meaningful pieces.

Chicago Cubs: Sweet Lou made the right decision in running away from this team. The Cubs have been backsliding for awhile now, and this season proves it. They have very few quality players, they’re just top to bottom not as awful as the Pirates or Astros. It’ll be some time until this team is a legitimate threat to do much in the division again, short of a lightning in a bottle season.

Houston Astros: Much like the Cubs, this team really has no talent on it. Roy Oswalt is a dish best served elsewhere, and would make a lot of sense in bolstering the Phillies rotation or maybe even the Nationals as a tutor for the young guns they have coming up. But more likely the Angels will make a gamble on Roy for a farm system that, in about three season, will make people pay attention to Houston. This club may not get a pitcher more than 11 wins all season, and even that would seem like a miracle with this lineup. Triple A club here, might as well build the farm.

Pittsburgh Pirates: I’m a big Zach Duke fan, but that doesn’t mean much. McCutchen is an animal and will continue to grow, but this club is, much like the previous two teams mentioned, just a triple A club at best. A team constantly in rebuild mode, they need a few good drafts to shape into a competitive team.