With the 2024 MLB season just around the corner, fans are excited to see how their teams will stack up against the other franchises looking to put together enough wins to continue playing into October. In honour of the upcoming season, here’s a short guide to each National League team’s outlook in 2024:
National League West
It’s surprising the Dodgers didn’t sign the ghost of Babe Ruth this offseason. Oh wait, they basically did in locking up generational superstar Shohei Ohtani to a confusingly structured megadeal. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are always going to perform, and newly acquired former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be their next Zack Greinke. Also, Tyler Glasnow is the most unhittable pitcher when he’s actually on the mound.
The underdog era is over for the Diamondbacks following last year’s Cinderella postseason run. Now they have to deal with real expectations and an even more stacked NL West division. They’re certainly capable of rising to the challenge. Corbin Carroll is a one-of-one speedy outfielder, Zac Gallen is the kind of frontline pitcher every franchise wants and their offseason additions resolved many of the team’s weaknesses.
The Padres’ 2023 season was strange. The numbers say they probably should have won 90-plus games, but they finished barely over .500. The offseason saw last year’s two most productive players, Juan Soto and Blake Snell, leave the roster. Yet they still have a good shot to win many games with the talent they have. Expect bouncebacks from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, as they are just too good to have back-to-back seasons below their standards.
Winning 107 games in 2021 was one of the worst things that could have happened to the Giants. They’ve become stagnant over the last couple of years in their attempts to replicate their franchise-best regular season. Despite a drama-filled offseason, they actually did a good job of improving their team. Jung-Hoo Lee has franchise center-fielder potential, Jorge Soler hits bombs and Blake Snell is an enigma. Snell is a two-time Cy Young winner who tends to give up too many walks. However, his curveball and rising fastball are so good that he is going to rack up strikeouts at an elite rate, serving as a key piece in a stacked new rotation.
If you want to watch a good team play skilled, fundamental baseball, then there isn’t a worse choice than the Rockies. If you watch baseball solely to see just how far home runs can be hit, games at Coors Field are the ones for you! The Rockies are probably a 60-win team again, but Nolan Jones is a player who will take advantage of Coors’ higher elevation to hit a lot of homers.
National League Central
A new era is upon the Brewers. During the offseason, they lost Milwaukee born-and-raised manager Craig Counsell to the Cubs and shipped out elite pitcher Corbin Burnes. Despite this, the Brew Crew are better than you might think, especially if the young guys continue to develop. Freddy Peralta will also break out and look like an ace this year, as he is The Charlatan’s NL Cy Young pick.
The Cubs are a weird mish-mash of veterans with championship pedigree and an endless pool of young guns. Also, they’re now run by Craig Counsell, whose leadership and analytic thinking with the Brewers dominated the division last season. This team had a fine offseason, bringing in Shota Imanaga, a pitcher from Japan with a deceptive rising fastball, and re-signing Cody Bellinger. Still, fans definitely wanted a bit more from their front office in an offseason where they were linked to every big name.
This squad is locked, loaded and ready to play. The Reds actually spent money this offseason and brought in some dependable veterans to fill out their young roster. This team has a legitimate shot to win the division. While Elly De La Cruz has yet to show consistent hitting ability, the 22-year-old is still one of the most exciting players in the sport with elite sprint speed and a cannon of an arm in the infield.
They are perpetual sellers who sign veterans to cheap one-year deals to flip at the trade deadline. They are probably going to flop, but hopefully first-overall pick Paul Skenes can make the big leap into the majors and put on a show at what is perhaps America’s best ballpark.
The Cardinals’ 2023 season was flat-out terrible. Their stacked offence was supposed to be the storyline, but in the end, it was their terrible pitching. The Cardinals are running it back on the offensive side, but they have notably brought in Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to fill out their rotation. I don’t have high hopes, but let’s see if this team can surprise.
National League East
Despite their opponents garnering plenty of off-season hype every year, the Braves have dominated the NL East every year thus far this decade. Their lineup is essentially a nine-headed monster, and their elite pitching staff is fronted by untouchable strikeout artist Spencer Strider. The division title is not this team’s concern — it’s returning to the big stage in October.
The Phillies have been the team to watch the past two postseasons, putting together two historic David vs. Goliath-esque runs that fell just short. Expect this team to win 90 games and a postseason round or two. Just don’t expect their fielders to actually play defence.
The Marlins are a pesky, resilient group. They always look competitive, especially when facing off against their NL East rivals. Losing Sandy Alcantara, Jorge Soler and potentially Eury Pérez (at least to start the year) moves this team down a few pegs, but you can always count on them to develop another young pitcher into a top-of-the-rotation guy.
The most disappointing team of last year enters this season with tapered expectations. Honestly, this will work to their advantage because they aren’t a bad team. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Kodai Senga (starting the year injured) make up a really solid core and their depth isn’t awful. Expect a win total higher than last year’s 75, but lower than 2022’s 101.
The price you pay for glory. The Nationals have been a non-factor since their 2019 ring, and have since traded away the pieces that won them the championship. They have to remain hopeful that the prospects they got back in the trades will pan out. Any day now, guys.
Featured image by Joshua Peacock via Unsplash.
