Who's Who in the National League

The first weekend of the regular baseball season is over and with that draws many way too early projections. So I decided that instead of fighting these predictions I was going to throw my hat in the ring and give my predictions as well. This week I decided to focus on the National League, its teams, and the possible races down the stretch. I will go through all the divisions to name their respective winners and the wildcards as well, then I will try my best to call the MVP winner.

To start in the National League East, most people think that the Washington Nationals are runaway winners in the division as they have done the last 3 years, however, I think the New York Mets have a great chance to make some noise. Their pitching has been a staple for them ever since they won the pennant in 2015, but it has been up and down the past two years. Matt Harvey, their ace during their pennant run, has seemed to struggle to find the fastball that elevated him to the elite status among current pitchers in the game. This is the year the Met

s rebound, putting a 90 win season together and Todd Fraizer hits .280 with 35 homers to allow them to make a run at one of the wildcards. I do not think that New York has the firepower to beat the Nationals. Their offense and pitching have potential to propel them to the playoff series win that the organization so desperately needs. Bryce Harper may very well win his second MVP award, his swing is back to its powerful glory and he showed that this weekend hitting two deep homers in the series finale against Cincinnati on Sunday.

In the Central things get tricky, I think the Chicago Cubs win the division but the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals make that call very hard. This division has had tight races down the stretch in the past couple years and this year should not be any different. The youth of the Cubs has them primed for their continued dominance finding themselves past the post World Series hangover. The Brewers surprised a lot of people last year by how long they were in the hunt last season and have only improved with the pickups of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. Ryan Braun is poised to have a resurgent year with the pressure of an organization seemingly away from him. The Cardinals are seemingly contenders every year but they are sort of at an impasse with their talent. Their age was a problem last year and have gotten a little younger with their lineups so they could sneak up the wildcard standings. I think the Brewers win a wildcard spot late in the season and make a deep run in the postseason.

The West will be the Los Angeles Dodgers division until I find a chink in Clayton Kershaw’s armor. Kershaw’s dominance over the now 10 years he has been in the game is rival only to Gibson, Maddux, and Koufax. He got the monkey off of his back with a very impressive postseason and I think he can repeat this postseason. No one else in the division has the pitching to compete against L.A. or any of the wildcard contenders. The Rockies have taken steps back this offseason and I don’t think they have enough to make a good run.

My award winners for the Senior Circuit are very, very up in the air but if I were made to chose an MVP based on this weekend and past performances I’d say that Joey Votto from the Cincinnati Reds and Bryce Harper from the Washington Nationals are the top candidates. Harper is a freak with absolute unholy power and has become a top-tier defender in right. He has shown promise this spring and last weekend at overcoming his maturity problems finally have a complete season. Votto is the closest thing to Ted Williams that we will ever see, he is one of the greatest hitters of our generation and in my not so humble opinion should have won the MVP last year. He hits .300 consistently with 30 homers and 90 plus runs batted in and his on-base percentage is one of those numbers that pop out at you. He continues that this year and the Reds have a better season he could run away with it.