NL East
1) Atlanta Braves (A+)
2) Washington Nationals (C)
3) Philadelphia Phillies (D)
4) New York Mets (B+)
5) Miami Marlins (F)
Analysis: Atlanta is right where I thought they would be. They are clearly the strongest team not just in the offensive side, but also in pitching. They have a strong rotation, bullpen, and probably the strongest to close it out with Kimbrell. They are at around a +40 runs for/against differential with one month down and they can win both at home and on the road. Justin Upton is tearing it up in his new uniform and can you imagine how they will be when BJ Upton breaks his slump and they get Brian McCann and Beachy back from the DL. They are on track for my World Series prediction.
Washington gets an average grade from me. They have not looked great at all and really in the pitching department. When they played Atlanta at home, Atlanta crushed them in the 3-game series. Strasburg has looked beatable, not to mention Gio Gonzalez’s stuff has looked soft. Bryce Harper has gotten off to a great start, but not much help elsewhere with Ryan Zimmerman hitting the DL already. I think they’ll climb out of it, but I don’t see them as a sinking ship just yet.
Philadelphia I expected more out of. Ryan Howard has been hitting decently, but not with power. Actually, Philadelphia as a whole hasn’t been hitting with much power at all. Their pitching has been spotty so far especially from Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. The question is will they break the slump, will they give prospects a chance, or will they trade for help. A little too early to tell just yet.
New York has looked like a good team, but the worry is will they stay healthy. If recent years tell you anything then the answer is no. Matt Harvey has looked outstanding to start the season and their offense is another team where you may not recognize a lot of names, but they are putting up lots of runs in the early going.
Miami’s section I’ll keep to a minimum, just like their run production. They may be the worst team in the league or at least compete hard for that role. They don’t enjoy scoring runs or really even getting on base. Giancarlo Stanton was out for about a week with an injury, but managed to stay of the DL. He started slow last year as well and got hot in May. The problem with that is, if he gets hot in May, look to see the Marlins ship him out of Miami and really take a nose dive.
NL Central
1) Cincinnati Reds (B+)
2) St. Louis Cardinals (A-)
3) Pittsburgh Pirates (B)
4) Milwaukee Brewers (C)
5) Chicago Cubs (D)
Analysis: Cincinnati only gets a B+ from me. I know, I know. Why so harsh for a team who has already scored over 110 runs after the first month. Mainly because it was expected that they would be doing something like that. The only quirk I have with the Reds right now is they had a very heavy home schedule for the first month and have dominated with it. They had a light road schedule and struggled with it so far. I expect that to change over time.
St. Louis is always near the top aren’t they? They get an A- because they are not only scoring runs, but they aren’t giving up a lot either. They aren’t a pretty team, but they always seem to get the job done. It’s that scrappy type of team that wins games with hit and runs, stealing bases, and bunting the runners over. They’ll compete with Cincinnati all year and should be enjoyable.
Pittsburgh also gets a good grade from even though they have been struggling with run production, but their pitching has kept them in games. They are about even with runs for/against and I think in this division they have the opportunity to finish middle of the pack. If they hang in there long enough, maybe they’ll make some trades to boost up that pitching staff.
Milwaukee gets an average grade from me, but that’s not a bad thing. They’ve performed a lot better than I had expected they would be, but again it’s still early into the year. They have been performing much like Pittsburgh has, but they’ve scored more runs, but also given up more. I think the lack of pitching will catch up with them in no time.
Chicago is not a surprise to be stuck in the cellar this early in the year. Truthfully, they haven’t looked much better than the Marlins. Rizzo leads the club in homers, but he’s hitting under .200. They are still without Matt Garza and they keep giving Carlos Marmol opportunities to close out games. Why wouldn’t this club give Sandberg a chance to manage? I’d look to see them continue to drop out of contention and probably trade away Soriano to a team looking for a bat. Gotta feel bad for those Cubs fans.
NL West
1) San Francisco Giants (B-)
2) Los Angeles Dodgers (F)
3) San Diego Padres (F)
4) Arizona Diamondbacks (B)
5) Colorado Rockies (A)
Analysis: First of all, this division is crazy to start the season and not at all as I expected. The San Francisco Giants gets a pretty good grade to start the season, which are lead by Buster Posey. Their strong part of their team always remains their pitching staff led by Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, but Barry Zito has gotten off to a nice impressive start and Madison Bumgarner is continuing to show his skill. I think the Giants are in a good spot and will only improve.
I’m going to be harsh with the Los Angeles Dodgers because they are my home team and get to follow them a lot. There’s a lot of things I can say, but I’ll keep it G rated and say they are just lame. They struggle with scoring runs and knocking in runners in scoring position. They have a ton of injuries including Greinke and Billingsley. The bright spot has been Carl Crawford and Clayton Kershaw. Adrian Gonzalez has also looked sharp, but the problem is the lineup in general and the lack of runs being scored. (No mention of Matt Kemp is intentional). They are in the same situation as the Angels as I’m concerned. If they don’t figure it out soon, expect some firings.
San Diego also gets an F and that probably shouldn’t be a surprise. I did pick them to finish 3rd in this division, but I expected growing pains. I thought they would make more of a run toward the end of the year when they start bringing up prospects. As bad as they have been, they are around the same run differential as the Dodgers. Ouch.
Arizona has shown great offense in the first month of the season. Their pitching has been average as well and I expect them to keep it up. I think they have a high ceiling for their success this season especially if Adam Eaton gets healthy and they bring him up to the Majors around the All-Star break. They are also enjoyable to watch and a greatly managed team.
Colorado has been a shock to me. I picked them to finish last and there is still a chance for that, but they had a great first month to the season. They are among the tops of runs scored in the National League and they have been great at home, where runs are obviously scored. They have had strong offensive production from CarGo, Tulo, Helton and Fowler. The problem is I don’t know many of their pitchers. Actually, I know one. De La Rosa is their ace and the rest of their starters are: Garland, Nicasio, and Francis. Can the starters keep up the good work? We’ll see where they end up next month.
therubbergame 