Going back to 2014, the NL East has been a two-team race at the top. The Mets, led by their fearsome rotation of starting pitchers, and the Nationals, headlined by the best player in the National League — Bryce Harper — are the two top dogs in the East and potentially, the NL as a whole. The Mets won the division last season and the Nationals in 2014, so this season is shaping up to be another slugfest between the two squads. New York got the best of Washington during the 2015 regular season as the Mets finished with an 11-8 record.
However, the Nats acquired former Mets 2015 postseason hero David Murphy to help bolster their lineup. Though the division race will go down to the wire, 2016 has seen the resurgence of two other squads in the East.
The Miami Marlins finished 2015 with a subpar mark of 71-91, which can mainly be attributed to two of their top stars — outfielder Giancarlo Stanton and pitcher Jose Fernandez — losing a significant amount of playing time due to injury. The two young stars are back in the mix for 2016 and figure to be major parts of once again putting the Marlins back on the map. Though Miami will greatly miss the absense of infielder Dee Gordon, who was suspended 80 games in 2016 for a PED citation. Nonetheless, Miami has an almost double-digit game improvement from where they were last May and is already turning plenty of heads in the baseball community.
Speaking of turning heads, the real surprise for the NL East this year has been the development of the Philadelphia Phillies young lineup. Philadelphia, the team with baseball’s worst record in 2015 at 63-99, has kept pace with the Nationals and Mets during the early part of the regular season and has easily been the biggest surprise in baseball. However, the same cannot be said of the final team in the division; the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta, the most decorated franchise in the history of the NL East with 12 division titles, has fallen far from their peak. Through the first quarter of the season, the Braves had baseball’s worst record and fired their manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Best National League East Betting Lines
For the most streamlined location of where to find all your daily betting lines for any NL East team, make sure to refer to the breakout box below.
This function will outline the odds for any team that has a game that day and will feature every matchup throughout the season.
Make a note to check back in with this function on a regular basis to see which teams are playing and also check the lines before they shift throughout the time before the game starts.
National League East Standings
To find the most up-to-date rankings of how each team in the NL East is performing this season along with the rest of the National League, make sure to check out the tool below.
This function will be very useful as it provides a streamlined look at how each of the teams in the NL East are performers and who are the top contenders in the National League.
Make sure to check this breakout on a regular basis as this is updated daily during the season. The standings will fluctuate throughout the year, but it will give you the lowdown on how the Nats, Mets, Marlins, Phillies and Braves are doing at any point in the year.
Online Tips For National League East Bettors
If there was one team that really shook up the NL East in 2015, it would be the Mets. New York finished with the best divisional record, with a mark of 47-29.
The Mets crushed the Phillies by a mark of 14-5, though they were only somewhat successful against the other squads with a record of 11-8 against the Marlins, Braves and Nationals.
Two top teams are still New York and Washington, but this year should shape up to be a lot closer given the improvements made by the Nats, Phillies and Marlins.
Barring a miracle, you can much pretty cross off the Braves from causing too many big upsets this year. Atlanta would essentially need Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and any other legend from the 1990's and early 2000's to return and rescue this season.
With that not happening anytime soon, the division will be a four-horse race in the short term. Though the Phillies have been a pleasant surprise for those in Pennsylvania, they are still an unproven team and will have to unseat two potential World Series favorites in order to make it to the playoffs.
Additionally, the suspension of Gordon has somewhat harpooned Miami's chances of snagging a Wild Card berth for the Marlins. Nonetheless, there could still be some more surprises in store for any team in the division.
Before any final wagers are made, make sure to check in with the betting breakout table below to find the best option.
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