Tuesday Quickie - NL East works for the Nats

The Nats are fun team this year. 

 Well sort of. 

 If you like high-scoring baseball you are in luck because the Nats are scoring the 3rd most runs in the game, almost a run more than average. Also the Nats are allowing the MOST runs in the game, over 1 and a half runs more than average. That's a losing combination but it's an entertaining losing combination. 

 What adds to the fun is pound for pound the NL East is starting the season as the weakest division in baseball. Meaning the Nats issues aren't putting them in last place staring up as they would be in the NL Central, or in the middle but a good distance from third as they would be in the NL West. They are bad but other teams are worse and other teams that expected to be good are worse leaving the Nats relatively feeling pretty good about themselves. 

The Braves are running away with the division right now and the stats have a team that is the 2nd best hitting team in baseball with the best staff.  That'll do it. The Braves staff is getting real lucky. Their rotation is pitching to a 4.00 ERA but seeing a 2.50.  Their relief corps has four guys with ERAs under 1. But the key is more staying healthy than doing silly things as injuries derailed last year.  Offensively Dom Smith (yes Nats legend Dom Smith!) can't be this good nor Mauricio Dubon but they haven't gotten what than can from Acuna. C Drake Baldwin being a star makes a huge difference from a position you are usually hoping for mere non-embarrassment (Ruiz... failing at that)

The Marlins are an average squad in their results.  They've put together a nice reliable starting staff, but with the same soft underbelly issue in the pen as the Nats. The offense is literally full of guys you never heard of having wildly different years from Otto Lopez looking like an MVP at SS to Heriberto Hernandez and Graham Pauley doing whatever that is called with the bat. It's seemingly more smoke and mirrors than the Nats so maybe the Nats can be 2nd place for a while. 

The Phillies are struggling everywhere. Bryce and Schwarber are still stars but their homegrown "talent" continues to disappoint. Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott in particular. When the lineup is four batters deep pitchers can work around that. The starting pitching really isn't this bad though. Basically bad luck right when it can't be washed out in the full season sample.  They should be better but unless the offense clicks I'm not sure they will be playoff good. 

The Mets, in the midst of a 1000 game losing streak  are pitching perfectly well.  There are some ups and downs with the vagaries of the early season but it's a perfectly reasonable playoff staff that is middle of the pack now and should be better. The offense is a mess though. Lindor is in one of those extended slumps he can go through and Bichette looks lost.  Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, guys they were counting on to be average are just bad. This puts a lot on Soto's shoulders... and he's out with no good replacement. It shouldn't be this bad and it won't be, but I'm not sure it will be good. 

The Nats are in a nice spot then I guess. The Marlins have a slightly better record but should come down, possibly a lot.  The Phillies and Mets are worse and should come up, but maybe not as much as they need. It's a bunch of games against opponents that shouldn't knock the Nats around.  FWIW the Nats are probably not this good relying a lot on Abrams and Wood and luck to score runs to cover for a bad staff. But the record is fair. this is a team that if lucky gets to 70 wins. And maybe this year in the NL East that keeps them in spitting distance of 2nd place.