NL East division update: June edition

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Entering the season, the National League East was expected to feature two powerhouse rosters. As of June 9, the Atlanta Braves have an imposing lead on the rest of the division. Coolstandings.com rates their odds of winning the division at over 93 percent.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals have done their best to tread water, but both teams are currently below .500. The Miami Marlins and New York Mets have drowned and are no longer relevant.

Miami Marlins (17-44)

For those who insist upon watching the Marlins, there are still a few things about which to be excited. Giancarlo Stanton is expected to return as soon as today. With Logan Morrison back in the lineup and Marcell Ozuna holding his own, the lineup finally may contribute enough to capture some wins. Jose Fernandez’s performance has exceeded expectations, with the bumps being more of the exception than the rule.

Going forward, keep an eye on five-tool outfielder Christian Yelich. The 21-year-old prospect is putting up solid numbers in Double-A. As Fernandez and Ozuna have demonstrated, the Marlins are not being bashful about promoting prospects aggressively. Injuries, poor performance, or a trade will be required to open up playing time for Yelich, but a promotion is possible.

New York Mets (23-34)

The wheels have fallen off the bus for the Mets. A roster that has more patchwork pieces than core contributors was bound to crack, and that’s just what has happened.

The pitching staff has been a letdown, contributing the second-worst ERA in the NL. This despite a FIP that rates as the seventh-best. Shaun Marcum accounts for a good chunk of that discrepancy. Over 49 innings, Marcum features a 4.96 ERA and 2.90 FIP.

The top story for the Mets is the inspirational performance of Matt Harvey. In 90 innings, he has a 2.10 ERA with excellent peripherals. He seemingly has arrived on the scene as an elite, young ace.

On the farm, Zack Wheeler is expected to make one more start in the minors before moving into the major league rotation. The Mets received Wheeler in return for Carlos Beltran in 2011. Wheeler’s stuff currently plays like a conventional mid-rotation pitcher, with a high strikeout rate partially offset by a moderately high walk rate. If his command improves, Wheeler should help form an exceptional young duo with Harvey.

Washington Nationals (29-31)

What was considered the strongest roster in baseball headed into the season has been decimated by injuries and poor performances. As they say, this is why we play the games.

Stephen Strasburg (oblique) and Bryce Harper (knee) are currently on the disabled list. They both should return in time to give the Nationals a fighting chance at a Wild Card berth, but it will be an uphill battle.

The pitching staff has performed ably, but it’s also an area of concern. Spots starts have been made by Zach Duke and Nate Karns, the latter of whom will fill in for Strasburg until he returns. The club lacks any notable pitching prospects, so they may need to add depth via trade. The decision on whether or not to make a deal may depend on what the club thinks of Dan Haren. He currently sports an excellent 5.89 K:BB ratio over 13 starts, but his ERA is an unfriendly 5.45.

Position players also have been giving the club fits. Danny Espinosa’s offensive performance has been untenable, and a demotion to Triple-A appears increasingly likely. The club is trying to groom top prospect Anthony Rendon to take over, but his conversion to second base remains a work in progress. Meanwhile, at Rendon’s natural position, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman continues to work through fielding woes that may force him to move to first base eventually.

More than anything, the Nationals need the talent currently on the roster to perform at the levels at which they are capable. With Jayson Werth returning from injury, the lineup appears sufficiently formidable to support their above-average pitching staff. Expect this team to contend despite the tepid start.

Philadelphia Phillies (31-32)

The Phillies have been treading water at zero to three games below .500 for most of the season. Much of their recent success is owed to the emergence of Domonic Brown. His .293/.333/.604 batting line befits his former (brief) status as the game’s top prospect more than his recent reputation as a potential bust. It will be interesting to see how the league adjusts to Brown and how he adjusts in turn.

With Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz on the disabled list, the Phillies lineup has been Brown, Brown, and only Brown. According to wRC+, John Mayberry Jr. is the only healthy, semi-regular with an above-average offensive contribution (Jimmy Rollins has been exactly average).

The club has several problem areas that potentially could be addressed in-season. First and foremost is the terrible performance of Ben Revere. While the club cannot afford to give up on the young speedster, it’s looking increasingly likely that Revere is more of a fourth outfielder than feature center fielder. The issue is his inability to leverage his speed. Defensive gaffes erode the value of his huge range, while his inability to reach base prevents him from disrupting opposing pitchers.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

In right field and first base, the Phillies are starting two players who need to be in strict handedness platoons. In fact, a joint platoon at first base would be advisable. Both Ryan Howard and Delmon Young are capable of feasting on opposite-handed pitchers, and both hit like scrubs against same-handed opponents. The club is patiently giving both hitters full time reps, mostly because there are no better options available.

Despite currently owning the second-best record in the NL East, the Phillies appear built to sell at the trade deadline. They will look to convert players like Delmon Young, Michael Young, and Ruiz into younger talent.

Atlanta Braves (38-24)

Despite an easy lead over the competition, the Braves have not been firing on all cylinders. The club was expected to feature a feast-or-famine offense, but certain Braves have been on a hunger strike, most notably B.J. Upton, Jason Heyward, and Dan Uggla.

Uggla’s performance is not unexpected. He’s hitting for power with 11 home runs and walking frequently. His .185/.310/.385 batting line is actually respectable for a major league second baseman, although his typically poor defense makes that line look a bit worse.

Heyward (.189/.305/.303) and Upton (.158/.257/.277) are more surprising. Upton’s numbers are most disturbing. Over a quarter of Upton’s balls in play are infield fly balls, which are every bit as automatic an out as a strikeout. Speaking of which, he’s striking out 33.5 percent of the time. Thus, over half of his plate appearances have been of the automatic out variety.

Heyward missed time with appendicitis, so the Braves likely are hoping he begins reaching base more frequently—and soon. He has solid walk and strikeout rates while posting a fairly average infield-flyball rate, so positive regression is likely.

The pitching staff has been superb. Only Tim Hudson has an ERA over 4.00, and only Kris Medlen has a FIP over 4.00. Nevertheless, tune in over the next five to 10 days as the Braves work out a roster crunch.

Brandon Beachy is expected to make one more rehab start before returning to the rotation. Julio Teheran is most likely to be demoted, but Medlen could be moved to the bullpen, or Beachy might be optioned rather than activated. You may recall that Teheran’s last outing was a dominant eight-inning, one-hit performance against an effective Pirates lineup.

The only other issue the Braves face is the loss of their top two left-handed relievers. Jonny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty both suffered elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery. This is likely to be the only area that the Braves address via trade this season, though they also may add a bench bat to upgrade Ramiro Pena or Reed Johnson.


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Weighed
10 years ago

Upgrade Pena?  Guy’s been money at the plate, and a stud in the infield.

Brad Johnson
10 years ago

Emphasis on “been.” At some point, we have to recognize that Ramiro Pena is Ramiro Pena. That said, the Braves don’t need to upgrade there, they just might want to. He provides the exact kind of defense teams desire from their utility man, even if his bat is terrible.

DON BROWNING
10 years ago

SOMETIMES I GET KINDA UPSET BECAUSE I DON`T FEEL THE BRAVES ARE PLAYING UP TO WHAT MY POTENTIAL FOR THEM HAVE ELEVATED THEM UPTO.  THEN THEY TURN AROUND AND SWEEP SOME TEAM AND MAKES ME HAPPY!!!!!!DONB

BaconBall
10 years ago

This is an email I sent to my friend, Chambiz, who played CF for Princeton decades ago:

No, that is not BJ Upton’s line this year, but it is too close for comfort. The guy with the line above was sent to the minors. He had not signed a 75 million dollar contract, unfortunately for him. the line comes from the story: Ike Davis and the Malfunctioning Parachute
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ike-davis-and-the-malfunctioning-parachute/

The fact that he has suffered with valley fever this year may have something to do with his terrible showing. What’s BJ Upton’s excuse? The article points out:
.161/.242/.258
Zero National League pitching staffs have hit for a higher wRC+, which is good. Two have come close, which is bad. Two have a higher slugging percentage. Four have a higher batting average. Seven have a higher BABIP.
Guess the same could be said for BJ…You gotta figure something’s wrong when your 75 million dollar man is hitting eight in the order on a regular basis. You gotta ask why anyone in their right mind would sign a guy to that kinda contract if’n they had to “break down his swing” and start over. I mean, you lay out that kinda cash and you figure the guy has it already figured out.
This new kid, Puig, has come in and injected some excitement into the LAD. Majic Johnson said he did not care how much money a player was making, he expected Mattingly to put the best players who would give the team a chance to win on the field. Why won’t someone in the Braves front office do the same? BJ has been to the plate 212 times and has a WAR of -0.8 to show for it. That means some guy in the minors would be better. It means with that minor leaguer having those PA’s the Braves would have won one more game! But it’s worse than that…Jordan Schafer has come to the plate 109 times, about half as many as Blown Job. His WAR is +0.7. If he had been leading off and had 300 PA his WAR would be +2.1. which means the Braves would have won THREE more games with him in the lineup!
Look at it this way, with a team of Blown Jobs they would be winning at a % of .474. A team of Jordan Schafer’s would be playing at a .510 clip. That is 83-79 versus 77-85, which means it is possible the Braves would actually be SIX games better at the end of the season with the guy on the bench playing CF. Go figure…
Schafer has earned the right to start. As has, I might add, Ramiro Pena. He has been better’ern Uggla, but not by as much as Jordan over Blown Job. And I will admit he is a good weapon to have on the bench, but the fact is the Braves have played better ball with him on the field. Uggla has lost a step, if that was possible, in the field. When it came to his range, well, he could hit it a long way! At his best he was average, so we will say that in a table-top baseball game his range woulda been a ‘B’. The last coupla years it was maybe a ‘C+’. Now it’s down to a ‘C’…He’s doing the limited range limbo-how low can he go?
BaconBall