*Photo from Bleacher Nation*
We are entering September, the final month of the regular season, and the most important month of the year for playoff hopefuls. Today, we look at where every NL playoff contender stands in the playoff race. This could turn out to be quite the interesting month for a lot of teams.
NL East:
*Photo from Talking Chop*
Atlanta Braves
The Braves are one of the complete teams in the NL. Their lineup includes such stars as Ronald Acuna Jr, Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Freddie Freeman, their starting pitching is led by rookie of the year candidate Mike Soroka, and their bullpen has Shane Greene and Mark Melancon working in the back end. They have a very well rounded team, and should be able to win the NL East for the second straight year. However, how their pitching does down the stretch could make or break this team in the playoffs.
*Photo from Washington.org*
Washington Nationals
The Nats had an awful start to the year, but have rebounded very well and seem to have a strong hold on the NL's first wild card spot, meaning whoever gets the second spot would have to travel to DC to play the wild card game. They may not be able to catch Atlanta in the NL east standings, but Washington has had strong play from a lot of sources. Their lineup is led by Anthony Rendon, young guns Juan Soto and Victor Robles, and strong first base play from Matt Adams. Their rotation is deadly, led by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin, plus an Anibal Sanchez that has had a magnificent season. However, their fatal flaw is the bullpen. Sean Doolittle was their most reliable reliever, and he's on the IL. Their bullpen has blown leads left and right all year. They added Hunter Strickland, Roenis Elias, and Daniel Hudson at the deadline, and it seems to have worked so far. Still, they will need more from the bullpen to make any sort of postseason run if they hold on.
*Photo from Federal Baseball*
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have largely underperformed, as they were pennant favorites at the start of the year. Now, they'll be lucky to make the wild card game. There is too much talent for this team to miss the playoffs. Their lineup includes Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, and JT Realmuto, Aaron Nola has been his Cy Young contending self, and the bullpen has been decent. They currently sit 3 1/2 games out, so everything needs to perform well if the Phillies are to make the playoffs. They need to have a really strong September. If that happens, they could be heading to DC for the wild card game.
*Photo from SNY*
New York Mets
The Mets are back. When they were left for dead after an awful first half, they added Marcus Stroman at the trade deadline. Since then, they have been one of the hottest teams in baseball. They are 5 games behind a wild card spot, but they seem to be one hot streak away from getting it. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil have been stars all year, and Wilson Ramos has a 25+ game hitting streak going on right now. Michael Conforto has been playing nicely too. Noah Syndergaard, Jacob Degrom, and Stroman headline the rotation, with Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz being nice pieces at the back end. Edwin Diaz has played better lately in the bullpen too. Is this foolish optimism? Maybe. But miracles could happen.
NL Central:
*Photo from NBC Sports*
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs acquired Nicholas Castellanos at the deadline, and since then they've looked like a different team. Castellanos has been a great player so far, and some players are returning to form, such as Ian Happ, and Victor Caratini has been a great backup catcher lately. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kyle Schwarber are humming along as usual. Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels, and Jon Lester headline the starting rotation, though Craig Kimbrel hasn't been all that good this year, and it's cost the Cubs some games. They could catch the Cardinals for the NL central lead, and they could pull off another deep postseason run.
*Photo from the St.Louis Post Dispatch*
St.Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals currently lead the NL central, but with the way things have played out this year, that could change awfully quick. Marcell Ozuna and Paul Goldschmidt headline the lineup, and Harrison Bader has had a great year. Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong form a nice duo in the middle infield. Yadier Molina is still their solid presence behind the plate, and Adam Wainwright and Miles Mikolas lead the rotation. Their bullpen hasn't embarrassed themselves either. If they manage to make the postseason, I feel they may have an early exit, even though they are good. I just think there are a few teams better than them who can knock them off early.
*Photo from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel*
Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich has been the best thing to happen to Milwaukee. He is easily the star of this team. He is supported by names such as top prospect Keston Hiura, Eric Thames at first, Yasmani Grandal behind the plate, and Lorenzo Cain in center field, although Cain has had a down year. Their pitching has been the greatest problem. Jeremy Jeffress and Junior Guerra haven't done good in the bullpen, and the rotation isn't any better. There have been a lot of injuries, and they added a lot of secondary names, which isn't what they needed. They needed a face of the rotation, and they don't have one. Because of this, I feel Milwaukee misses the playoffs this year.
NL West:
*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
Los Angeles Dodgers
This team is loaded. Cody Bellinger has played like an MVP, bashing dingers left and right. If he is unavailable, no worries. They have Joc Pederson, AJ Pollock, Alex Verdugo, and much much more. Corey Seager, Justin Turner, and Max Muncy highlight the infield, though Muncy just hit the IL. Kike Hernandez and Chris Taylor are solid utility players. Clayton Kershaw is having a typical Kershaw year, Hyun-Jin Ryu is having a Cy Young season, and Rich Hill has been decent. Their bullpen has been a little lacking recently, but this team has good enough starters and hitters where the bullpen should have a large lead by the time they step in. They are clear cut world series favorites, and anything else would be a disappointment to the fans and the team.
*Photo from the Washington Post*
Arizona Diamondbacks
Contrary to popular belief, the Diamondbacks didn't fall apart when they traded Zack Greinke. In fact, they are 4 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, so they are still competing. Ketel Marte has played like an MVP, and he seems to be a face of the franchise moving forward. There's also Jarrod Dyson and his speed. There aren't any real stars on this team, and that could be the difference between playoffs and not. Regardless, they've played like a team. Oh yeah, Zac Gallen looks like a good start too. This was a better year than thought, but I feel Arizona misses the playoffs this year because they lost too much talent last offseason.
Current Divison Races:
NL East:
1. Atlanta Braves(82-54)
2. Washington Nationals(75-58, 5 1/2 GB)
3. Philadelphia Phillies(69-64, 11 1/2 GB)
4. New York Mets(68-66, 13 GB)
NL Central:
1. St.Louis Cardinals(74-59)
2. Chicago Cubs(73-61, 1 1/2 GB)
3. Milwaukee Brewers(68-66, 6 1/2 GB)
NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers(88-49)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks(69-66, 18 GB)
Division Winners predictions
Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Cards prediction
Washington Nationals(1), St.Louis Cardinals(2)
St.Louis @ Washington
Like I said in the AL edition, I could be totally wrong about these by the end of the month. If there is a game between any of the teams I've mentioned, I suggest watching it, you can follow the playoff race that way.
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