Hi everyone, hope everyone is having a Happy Thursday so far. We next go over to the National League and start with the best division in baseball in 2021, the NL East. This should be a very competitive division and let’s get into how I see it shaping out for 2021.
5th: Marlins 65-97
Best Prop Bet: Under 70.5 Wins (Decent Wager)
Projected Lineup
- RF Corey Dickerson
- CF Starling Marte
- 1B Jesus Aguilar
- LF Adam Duvall
- 3B Brian Anderson
- SS Miguel Rojas
- 2B Jazz Chisholm
- C Jorge Alfaro
Rotation
- Sandy Alcantara
- Pablo Lopez
- Elieser Hernandez
- Sixto Sanchez
- Trevor Rogers
Bullpen
CL: Anthony Bass
Setup: Dylan Floro
Setup: Yimi Garcia
Setup: Richard Bleier
Overview: The Marlins are in a tough spot. They have a decent veteran lineup and a decent veteran bullpen. The rotation is very young but talented so why do I have the Marlins finishing with almost 100 losses? The division is stacked and will be tough to win game for the fish within division in 2021. The Marlins will be in a good spot in July as Starling Marte, Brian Anderson, Dylan Floro and Jesus Aguilar will have some value on the trade market and could fetch some prospects in return. What I see happening is the Marlins trading some pieces away and collapsing down the stretch because the rest of the division is really good (good major league teams usually beat up on Triple-A teams). If the Marlins were in the NL Central they would be far more competitive, as the saying goes in real estate LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
4th: Nationals 80-82
Best Prop Bet: Under 84.5 Wins (Decent Wager)
Projected Lineup
- CF Victor Robles
- RF Juan Soto
- SS Trea Turner
- 1B Josh Bell
- LF Kyle Schwarber
- 2B Starlin Castro
- C Yan Gomes
- 3B Carter Kieboom
Starting Rotation
- Max Scherzer
- Patrick Corbin
- Stephen Strasburg
- Jon Lester
- Joe Ross
Bullpen
CL: Brad Hand
Setup: Daniel Hudson
Setup: Tanner Rainey
Setup: Wander Suero
Overview: Some may see I’m being hard on the 2019 World Champions having them pegged as about a .500 team. Let’s go over why I could eat crow here. Trea Turner and Juan Soto are 2 of the 15 best players in the game. The rotation is bona fide awesome, Jon Lester is still as solid as ever and he’s the number four starter. Here’s why I am going to be right. Trea Turner is one of the most fun players in baseball to watch, baseball would be more fun if we have 40 players who make things happen like he does on a nightly basis. Juan Soto put his best Barry Bonds impression on last year and could be even better next season. But outside of those two the lineup is very weak, a whole lot of .230 hitters (sans Starlin Castro who doesn’t hit for much power). The rotation is awesome at the top but Steven Strasburg can’t stay healthy, and the bullpen outside of Brad Hand and Daniel Hudson is very suspect. The Nats could be good if things fall right but I see what I see, about a .500 baseball team.
3rd: Phillies 85-77
Best Prop Bet: Aaron Nola Cy Young +1200 (Small Wager)
Projected Lineup
- LF Andrew McCutchen
- 1B Rhys Hoskins
- RF Bryce Harper
- C J.T Realmuto
- 3B Alec Bohm
- SS Didi Gregorius
- 2B Jean Segura
- CF Scott Kingery
Projected Rotation
- Aaron Nola
- Zach Eflin
- Zack Wheeler
- Vincent Velasquez
- Matt Moore
Bullpen
CL: Hector Neris
Setup: Archie Bradley
Setup: Jose Alvarado
Setup: Brandon Kintzler
Overview: The NL East is going to be so competitive this season. The Phillies are an interesting study this year. They have an ace, a good bullpen, a pretty underrated lineup with no real holes so what gives? The rotation outside of ace Aaron Nola is decent but far from elite, we need to see some consistency from Zach Eflin and Vincent Velasquez but both have elite stuff and potential. We do not know what to expect from Matt Moore on the back end and a little troubling the Phillies are having to depend of Matty Moore as much as they are. The Phillies will be in the hunt this season (too much talent to not be), but will fade late. Let’s start the angry Philly sports talk banter please.
2nd: Mets 87-75 (5th playoff seed)
Best Prop Bet: Win World series +1000 (very small let’s have some fun wager)
Projected Lineup
- CF Brandon Nimmo
- SS Francisco Lindor
- RF Michael Conforto
- 1B Pete Alonso
- LF Dominic Smith
- 2B Jeff McNeil
- 3B J.D Davis
- C James McCann
Starting Rotation
- Jacob DeGrom
- Marcus Stroman
- Taijuan Walker
- David Peterson
- Joey Lucchesi
Bullpen
CL: Edwin Diaz
Setup: Miguel Castro
Setup: Trevor May
Setup: Jeurys Familia
Overview: There is a ton of love for the New York Metropolitans coming into 2021. What I see if a very flawed baseball team that if they can just sneak into the playoffs can be very dangerous once they get there. What the Mets have that makes them a Championship sleeper is an awesome top of the rotation (especially if Noah Syndergaard can come back and contribute), a strong back end of the bullpen and a couple of super duper stars in Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor that can carry a team on their backs in October. But the flaws (back end of rotation, weak middle relief, okay but not great lineup) makes me pause in saying the Mets are going to win 90-100 games. But I do believe the Mets will sneak in the dance and could be a big problem once they get there.
1st: Braves 97-65 (2nd playoff seed)
Best Prop Bet: Win NL East +140 (Bet the ranch on this one, other words huge prop bet)
Projected Lineup
- CF Ronald Acuna
- 2B Ozzie Albies
- 1B Freddie Freeman
- LF Marcel Ozuna
- C Travis dArnaud
- SS Dansby Swanson
- 3B Austin Riley
- RF Cristian Pache
Rotation
- Max Fried
- Charlie Morton
- Ian Anderson
- Drew Smyly
- Kyle Wright
Bullpen
CL: Will Smith
Setup: Tyler Matzek
Setup: A.J Minter
Setup: Chris Martin
Overview: Braves at +140 to win the NL East am I being duped? The Braves have won the division three years in a row and it hasn’t even been a race down the stretch so why would this year be any different with a team that is still mostly intact? Yes the NL East is very competitive but you know what the Braves are going to do a lot more than the other teams in this division? Score a lot of runs! Braves have a lineup full of dudes that are not just power hitters but also hit for average. I am calling a Dansby Swanson breakout season as well to add to the enrichments of hitting the Braves already have. The one downfall could be the back end of the rotation. But comparing it to the rest of the division except maybe the Nationals (who are offensively challenged remember) the back end is at minimum comparable. The Braves to win the NL East is the best prop bet on the board, don’t think twice and put some cash on it and thank me in October when you are counting your winnings, I’m here all day making money for you!