Reviewing the National League Playoff Standings

Unlike the American League, the playoff picture in the National League is a bit clearer.  The Dodgers, as everyone is aware, have the most loaded roster in the Majors.  Led by an arguably top three player in the MLB in Mookie Betts, Los Angeles will likely remain atop the National League standings.  The Padres will only get better with the return of Fernando Tatis, but I believe the West is still the Dodgers’ to lose. However, there are a couple of division races that are heading down an interesting path. 

            The most interesting division race in all of MLB is the National League East.  Specifically, the race between the Mets and Braves.  The Mets seemed to be the best team, not only in the National League, but in the entire league at the beginning of the season.  But, in true Met fashion they’ve started to blow that lead to the Braves.  The Mets do have the easier remaining schedule of the two, but I think the Braves are a better team.  At least as things stand today.  It sounds like the Mets want to be buyers at the trade deadline and could add someone like Willson Contreras.  Contreras would give them a nice offensive boost and a catching upgrade that I think would put them over the top.  However, if the Mets and Braves rosters remain the same, I’m picking the Braves to win the East.

            Overall, for the National League, I think these are the six teams that ultimately make the playoffs.  There may be some shuffling as far as seeding goes, but I think these teams will be the ones to grab a spot in the playoffs.  The team that is on the outside looking in right now that could make a run is the Phillies, but that is entirely dependent on when Bryce Harper comes back. 

Biggest National League Surprise: San Diego Padres

            This was a tough choice for me being that there haven’t really been any major surprises thus far in the NL.  Now, you could say the Mets I guess, because well, they are the Mets.  Did anyone really expect them to be this good and for this far into the season? Anyway, I’m going to go with the Padres here. Seems odd that a team expected to be good and currently sits in the second wild card spot could be the biggest surprise.  But keep in mind, they’ve done all this without their best player Fernando Tatis Jr. He has yet to play this season due to injury, but here the Padres sit in second place in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.  Tatis was taking batting practice the other day, so a return to actions seems to be near.  It seems unlikely that they could catch the Dodgers, but the loser of the NL East better keep their head on a swivel.

National League MVP Front Runner: Paul Goldschmidt

            The St. Louis Cardinals have arguably the top two players in the running for the National League MVP in Goldy and Nolan Arenado.  Goldy has been the better of the two, however.  Although, it has been a tight race.  He’s been the best hitter in the Majors this year, or at the very least, on par with Aaron Judge.  Goldy leads the league in batting average (.335) and on base percentage (.417).  He also leads the National league in slugging (.619) and OPS (1.036).  Add on 24 homers and 77 RBIs, and you have a recipe for one hell of a hitting display.  The only other player that I think could have a case in this race is Austin Riley.  He’s sitting right behind Goldschmidt with a .945 OPS and has four more home runs.  The Braves also have a better record than the Cardinals, but the Cardinals could be buyers at the trade deadline and could boost their record.  Regardless, unless Goldschmidt goes into a slump and allows Riley to catch him, I think he brings home the trophy. 

National League CY Young: Sandy Alcantara… obviously

            Listen, nothing needs to be said here.  No one has vouched for Sandy more than me this season.  If anyone else wins this award I think we should all boycott Major League Baseball.  Sandy is a unicorn, and I dove into his performance this season at length in this article.  So instead of regurgitating the same info, I’ll leave you with these series of tweets highlighting his greatness.