National League

The East

1.) Philadelphia Phillies ( 99-63)

This will be your NL champs once again as the Philadelphia Phillies are hands down the best team. Absolutely loaded at every possible position, this team has leadership, speed, power, defense and pitching that will lead them deep into the playoffs. The Phillies know that they are a very good ball club and want to return to the World Series where they will most likely will face the NY Yankees again. One big move that will help them was the signing of 17 game winner Roy Halladay. Already being loaded with left handers, the Phillies needed to sign to right-handed pitching that was going to help carry this ball club back to The Fall Classic. Roy being added to the rotation gives the Phillies the best 1-5 combination in the Bigs.

Departing the 2008 World Series Champs will be 3rd basemen Pedro Feliz (Astros), the Phills, went out and picked up 2009 Gold Glove winner, Placido Polanco. Polanco, who has played 2nd base the past four years has been used mainly as infield utility player. With 2nd base being occupied by 2009 all-star Chase Utley, Polanco will replace Feliz as the 3rd baseman.

The achilles hill for this team in 2009 was their bullpen. Closer Brad Lidge return to his old form as he blew 11 saves after previously being perfect in 2008. If Lidge struggles again this season, the Phillies can either go to their new signee Danys Baez or Ryan Madson. Player to watch will be starting pitcher Jaime Moyer. Moyer will be entering his 24th season and should be intriguing to see how he will hold up. 2009 saw significant drops in innings pitched, Ks, and games but increase in ERA, HR, and WHIP. Will Moyer be able to last all season or will Kyle Kendrick be rotated in?

Starting Pitcher Win/Loss

1.) C. Hamles- 15-10
2.) R. Halladay- 20-9
3.) J. Blanton- 14-11
4.) J.A. Happ- 11-5
5.) J. Moyer- 9-6

2.) New York Mets ( 86-76)

This is will be the year that the Mets do not choke away their season. Loaded with speed and consistent hitting, this team should be on the heals of the Phillies majority of the summer. Catcher Rod Barajas, LF Jason Bay, and CF Gary Matthews will be the three main new faces in Mets uniform. Gary Matthews now is projected to be a backup player but expect him to start CF as Carlos Beltran is still recovering from knee surgery that might push his return till May. Jason Bay will add a much-needed bat and defense to left field now that Gary Sheffield is a free agent. Due to the loss of 2009 catcher Brian Schneider, the Mets went out and signed Barajas to a 1 year deal. Barajas isn’t a top-tier hitter but combined with defense along with C. Coste veteran leadership, this should make for a great catcher combo.

1-5 rotation didn’t changed at all as Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey and John Maine will be the first three out of the gate. All three of these pitchers had mediocre years last season and will need to return back to their normal forms soon or else they might be seeing their last couple years in a Mets uniform. Strong bullpen is always a main key to being successful and the Mets have one especially with top-tier closer Francisco Rodriguez who is looking to bounce back from an average year. If K-Rod can save 55 + games, this Mets team will be in the Wild Card hunt at the end of the season. Player to watch will be Carlos Beltran. Beltran has the capabilities to bounce back after surgery but will he able to maintain his consistency knowing that very talent Gary Matthews is sitting behind him vying for the starting roll.

Starting Pitching Win/Loss

1.). Santana- 18-9
2.) M. Pelfrey- 15-11
3.) J. Maine- 17-13
4.) O. Perez- 12-10
5.) F. Nieve- 6-5

3.) Atlanta Braves ( 84-78)

Figuring out which team would end up two and three in this division will be close. The Braves have experience and talent but players with a lot of miles on them. Atlanta went out and grabbed a couple good starters, LF Melky Cabrera ( Yankees) and 1st baseman Tony Glaus (St. Louis). On paper this team overall looks like a playoff contender but with the Phillies being the same divison, I do not see the Braves coming anywhere close. Other than M. Cabrera, there really isn’t anyone one this team that stands out with that “wow factor.” Chipper Jones is past his prime as majority of his 2009 numbers dropped off from 2008 and I do not expect them to return in 2010. The rest of the team other than McCann and Cabrera are B-C type players that will produce but as whole won’t be enough to contend. The Braves do have a pretty decent bench as they have two good utility players, Omar Infante and Eric Hinske.

I look at Atlanta’s starting 5 and to me there isn’t a true #1 on this team. Though their starting pitcher, Jair Jurrjens, is young and shows a lot of true potential, his numbers don’t seem to overwhelm me to consider him great. Twelve year vet. Derek Lowe will be a good number two but he is getting older and won’t look like the Lowe from Boston. The Braves picked up closer Billy Wagner who should fit in perfectly with this team. Suprisingly for being 39, Wagner is still consider a top tier closer as he still possesses a 95 + fastball.

Atlanta always had a decent bullpen and this one isn’t any different though they have two pitchers that recently have come off Tommy John surgery, Wagner and Moylan. Player to watch is Melky Cabrera as he will be carrying most of the load for this team. Young and skillful, Melky will become the new face of the Braves organization .

Starting Pitchers Win/Loss

1.) J. Jurrjens- 13-9
2.) D. Lowe- 14-11
3.) T. Hanson- 11-9
4.) T. Hudson- 13-6
5.) K. Kawakami- 7-12

4.) Florida Marlins ( 78-84)

This team pretty much describes consistency as the Marlins pitching and hitting were not great nor bad. Despite finishing second last year and only six games behind the Phillies, the lack of substantial offseason moves will drop the Marlins back into fourth. All the starters and second stringers are exactly the same but with the type of major offseason moves the Braves and Mets made, won’t be enough to maintain at the top of the East. Luckily for this Florida team, that isn’t a bad thing as they have ton of talent that will finally be emerging throughout the whole season. Majority of the Marlins offseason moves were signing these players to longer contracts, especially the pitching staff.

If you look at the names of these pitchers, non of them will probably ring a bell to you but three out of five of them ended up with records above .500. During spring training the Marlins will have two outstanding future aces competing for a spot in the rotation, Rick VandenHurk and Andrew Miller. The bullpen is average at best as closer Leo Nunez seem to struggle most of last season mainly due to lack of experience as a closer. Now with Matt Lindstrom gone (Astros), Nunez is the go to closer and should become more comfortable and improve his overall numbers.

Hanley Ramirez is the player to watch as he led the Marlins in every major hitting category other than coming second in homeruns to Dan Uggla. Entering his six season, expect this numbers to get better and for all you fantasy owners, Hanley is a must pick up.

Starting Pitchers Win/Loss

1.) J. Johnson- 18-9
2.) R. Nolasco- 14-11
3.) A. Sanchez- 7-13
4.) S. West- 8-10
5.) C. Volstad- 5-7

5.) Washington Nationals ( 66- 96)

Nationals need a lot of work and need to do it quickly as their main veterans are reaching their peak. The Nats’ do you have some younger players, especially in the outfield with four-year vet Elijah Dukes, five-year vet, Nyjer Morgan and the most experience player Josh Willingham. Though these three players have put up matching numbers throughout their careers, they don’t seem to show much upside later on down the road. To solve this problem and to gain some viable leadership, Washington went out and signed fourteen time all-star Ivan Rodriguez and 2002 World Series champ, Adam Kennedy. Where ever Ivan goes, teams tend to improve, I.E helping the Fl. Marlins win the World Series in 2003. Then he help bring Detroit from the bottom of the AL Central to consistent contenders from 04-07. Pudge has always been a great catcher but the last couple of years his numbers have dropped noticeably thus him bouncing around from the Yankees (08′) Houston & Texas (09′) and now with the Nationals.

The biggest move the Nationals made was first round & first pick in Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State University. Two years with SDSU, Strasburg had an ERA of 1.44 along with a total of 328 K’s. The main question going into this season for Washington may be calling up Strasburg from AAA to the majors. He is going to be the face of this team and I believe the Nat’s should wait a year or two and make sure that his arm is fully developed along with enough experience to be able to carry this team. The Nationals need to draft and sign more talented players to build around Strasburg before throwing him out there to carry the load. Jason Marquis will now be part of the starting rotation but his numbers are slowly declining.

Now being with the Nats, do not expect his production anywhere near his previous years. The rest of the rotation is awful especially with one of the more promising pitching Scott Olsen being a bust. Matt Capps will battle out to be the new closer as he went from one terrible team, Pittsburgh Pirates, to another. If Capps cannot succeed as a go to closer, than Brian Bruney will be next in line. S. Strasburg will be the player to watch regardless if he stays in the minors or not. Touted as the best pitcher to ever be drafted, the face of the total organization lies on him. If called up in 2010, his influence on the team should be noted because if he struggles than more pressure will be put on the rest of the team.

Starting Pitchers Win/Loss

1.) J. Marquis- 11-14
2.) J. Lannan- 7-16
3.) S. Olsen- 9-12
4.) J. Martin-5-11
5.) G. Mock 4-9