* – indicates new to team
AVG – Batting Average
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves

1. Washington Nationals
Far too much talent to have a repeat of last season.
2. Atlanta Braves
Lots of pitching, but their lineup has some holes to fill.
3. Philadelphia Phillies
If Rollins, Utley and Howard return to form they might contend.
4. New York Mets
Having a healthy Matt Harvey would put them in contention.
5. Miami Marlins
Loads of talent on the way now and for many more seasons.

Player to Watch: 1B Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves
There was a spending spree in Atlanta, but it involved in house extensions to Andrelton Simmons, Craig Kimbrel and Freeman. After the season that Freeman had it made perfect sense for the Braves to lock him up. Now it could be seen as added pressure with the new $100 million contract, but Freeman is far too head strong and talented to let that get to him. He should be a mainstay for their lineup and as long as Jason Heyward and Justin Upton stay healthy for added protection, the Braves will be contenders with their deep stockpile of pitching.

Best Acquisition: P Doug Fister Washington Nationals
He is a solid pitcher who has had the fortune of playing in some deep rotations the last few years in Detroit. Now in Washington he gets to play in another deep rotation where almost anywhere else he could a teams number two starter or better. He’s a strike thrower that doesn’t waste pitches and makes the most of his outings. This is exactly what the Nationals needed after the ups and downs of having Dan Haren as their fourth starter last year.

New Kid on the Block: C Travis d’Arnaud New York Mets
He has been shuffled around quite a bit in his young career. Now it is his time to show what he can do at the big league level with the Mets. His durability has come into question, but there is denying that he can be a prolific catcher both behind the plate and in the batters box. The Mets were spoiled with having Mike Piazza for many years and they miss those days. They hope d’Arnaud can bring them back to that and help put the Mets back into contention.

Nationals Lineup

1. CF Denard Span
.279 AVG 4 HR 47 RBI
2. SS Ian Desmond
.280 AVG 20 HR 80 RBI
3. LF Bryce Harper
.274 AVG 20 HR 58 RBI
4. RF Jayson Werth
.318 AVG 25 HR 82 RBI
5. 3B Ryan Zimmerman
.275 AVG 26 HR 79 RBI
6. 1B Adam LaRoche
.237 AVG 20 HR 62 RBI
7. C Wilson Ramos
.272 AVG 16 HR 59 RBI
8. 2B Anthony Rendon
.265 AVG 7 HR 35 RBI

Bench

OF Nate McLouth*
.258 AVG 12 HR 36 RBI
INF Danny Espinosa
.158 AVG 3 HR 12 RBI
OF Scott Hairston
.191 AVG 10 HR 26 RBI

Rotation

1. Stephen Strasburg
8-9 3.00 ERA
2. Gio Gonzalez
11-8 3.36 ERA
3. Jordan Zimmermann
19-9 3.25 ERA
4. Doug Fister*
14-9 3.67 ERA
5. Tanner Roark
7-1 1.51 ERA

Setup

Tyler Clippard
6-3 2.41 ERA

Closer

Rafael Soriano
43 SV 3.11 ERA

Braves Lineup

1. SS Andrelton Simmons
.248 AVG 17 HR 59 RBI
2. RF Jason Heyward
.254 AVG 14 HR 38 RBI
3. LF Justin Upton
.263 AVG 27 HR 70 RBI
4. 1B Freddie Freeman
.319 AVG 23 HR 109 RBI
5. C Evan Gattis
.243 AVG 21 HR 65 RBI
6. 3B Chris Johnson
.321 AVG 12 HR 68 RBI
7. 2B Dan Uggla
.179 AVG 22 HR 55 RBI
8. CF B.J. Upton
.184 AVG 9 HR 26 RBI

Bench

C Ryan Doumit*
.247 AVG 14 HR 55 RBI
OF Jordan Schafer
.247 AVG 3 HR 21 RBI
INF Ramiro Pena
.278 AVG 3 HR 12 RBI

Rotation

1. Julio Teheran
14-8 3.20 ERA
2. Mike Minor
13-9 3.21 ERA
3. Ervin Santana*
9-10 3.24 ERA
4. Alex Wood
3-3 3.13 ERA
5. David Hale
6-9 3.22 ERA

Setup

Luis Avilan
5-0 1.52 ERA

Closer

Craig Kimbrel
50 SV 1.21 ERA

Phillies Lineup

1. CF Ben Revere
.305 AVG 0 HR 17 RBI
2. SS Jimmy Rollins
.252 AVG 6 HR 39 RBI
3. 2B Chase Utley
.284 AVG 18 HR 69 RBI
4. 1B Ryan Howard
.266 AVG 11 HR 43 RBI
5. RF Marlon Byrd*
.291 AVG 24 HR 88 RBI
6. LF Domonic Brown
.272 AVG 27 HR 83 RBI
7. C Carlos Ruiz
.268 AVG 5 HR 37 RBI
8. 3B Cody Asche
.295 AVG 15 HR 68 RBI (AAA stats)

Bench

OF/1B John Mayberry
.227 AVG 11 HR 39 RBI
C Wil Nieves*
.297 AVG 1 HR 22 RBI
INF Cesar Hernandez
.314 AVG 2 HR 37 RBI (AA and AAA stats)

Rotation

1. Cliff Lee
14-8 2.87 ERA
2. Cole Hamels
8-14 3.60 ERA
3. A.J. Burnett*
10-11 3.30 ERA
4. Kyle Kendrick
10-13 4.70 ERA
5. Roberto Hernandez*
6-13 4.89 ERA

Setup

Antonio Bastardo
3-2 2.32 ERA

Closer

Jonathan Papelbon
29 SV 2.92 ERA

Mets Lineup

1. CF Juan Lagares
.242 AVG 4 HR 34 RBI
2. 2B Daniel Murphy
.286 AVG 13 HR 78 RBI
3. 3B David Wright
.307 AVG 18 HR 58 RBI
4. LF Curtis Granderson*
.229 AVG 7 HR 15 RBI
5. 1B Ike Davis
.205 AVG 9 HR 33 RBI
6. RF Chris Young*
.200 AVG 12 HR 40 RBI
7. C Travis d’Arnaud
.286 AVG 3 HR 20 RBI (Rookie, AA and AAA stats)
8. SS Ruben Tejada
.202 AVG 0 HR 10 RBI

Bench

1B/OF Lucas Duda
.223 AVG 15 HR 33 RBI
INF/OF Eric Young
.249 AVG 2 HR 32 RBI
C Anthony Recker
.215 AVG 6 HR 19 RBI

Rotation

1. Bartolo Colon*
18-6 2.65 ERA
2. Zack Wheeler
7-5 3.42 ERA
3. Jon Niese
8-8 3.71 ERA
4. Dillon Gee
12-11 3.62 ERA
5. Jenrry Mejia
1-2 2.30 ERA

Setup

Bobby Parnell
22 SV 2.16 ERA

Closer

Jose Valverde*
9 SV 5.59 ERA

Marlins Lineup

1. LF Christian Yelich
.288 AVG 4 HR 16 RBI
2. 2B Rafael Furcal*
.264 AVG 5 HR 49 RBI (2012 stats)
3. RF Giancarlo Stanton
.249 AVG 24 HR 62 RBI
4. 1B Garrett Jones*
.233 AVG 15 HR 51 RBI
5. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia*
.273 AVG 14 HR 65 RBI
6. 3B Ed Lucas
.256 AVG 4 HR 28 RBI
7. CF Marcell Ozuna
.265 AVG 3 HR 32 RBI
8. SS Adeiny Hechavarria
.227 AVG 3 HR 42 RBI

Bench

INF Casey McGehee*
.217 AVG 9 HR 41 RBI (2012 stats)
INF/OF Greg Dobbs
.228 AVG 2 HR 22 RBI
INF/OF Jeff Baker*
.279 AVG 11 HR 21 RBI

Rotation

1. Jose Fernandez
12-6 2.19 ERA
2. Nathan Eovaldi
4-6 3.39 ERA
3. Henderson Alvarez
5-6 3.59 ERA
4. Jacob Turner
3-8 3.74 ERA
5. Tom Koehler
5-10 4.41 ERA

Setup

Carlos Marmol*
2-4 4.41 ERA

Closer

Steve Cishek
34 SV 2.33 ERA