Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: NL East
By Bill Pivetz
The National League East features some good hitters and a few dominate starting pitchers. How do those matchups affect fantasy baseball in 2019?
The National League East features one team with their sights set for the playoffs in the Atlanta Braves. The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals can make it but need a few extra pieces.
The New York Mets added some players but are still far behind the other three teams. The Miami Marlins have one All-Star player and are dangling it in front of teams to trade for. They won’t be competing for much and have limited fantasy baseball value on the roster.
The other four teams have value for days. Whether it’s the starting pitching the Nationals, Phillies and Mets have or the sluggers like the Braves and Phillies have, you can build a successful fantasy baseball team with a lot of pieces from the NL East.
Two of the five NL East ballparks heavily favor hitters, Citizens Bank Park and Nationals Park. The other three are outside the top 20. With the pitchers in this division, that makes a lot of sense.
The only thing this division doesn’t have a lot of is closers. Two of the five teams have a legitimate closer. The other three will be using committees if they don’t sign someone soon. I’m not a fan of drafting closers early, so maybe one of these teams will have a standout option and be worth drafting in the later rounds.
The NL East will be a three-team race. The Mets, as long as they can stay healthy, will get close but won’t have a shot to win the division. If they can win some division games, the division winner will likely have less than 90 wins.
In this six-part series, I will go over each team’s key departures, arrivals and their remaining needs heading into Spring Training. I will also talk about some players to watch for in 2019.
Here is the final division in the National League, the East.
Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Marlins
Key Departures:
None
Key Additions:
The Marlins new ownership let almost all of their valuable talent go last year. Giancarlo Stanton was traded to the New York Yankees. Christian Yelich signed with Milwaukee. Marcell Ozuna went to St. Louis. Even Justin Bour was traded. Yet, J.T. Realmuto is the only one that remains, for now.
The Marlins are asking a lot for their All-Star catcher, and with good reason. He is the only catcher since 2012 to have double-digit home runs and steals. The Marlins have added a lot of pieces to their farm system and trading Realmuto will add a few more. Until then, though, he’s a top-three catcher.
The rest of the team, however, is low on the excitement level. The next best hitter is second baseman Starlin Castro. Brian Anderson had a decent season with 11 home runs, 65 RBIs and a .273 average.
The starting rotation features Jose Urena, Wei-Yin Chen, Dan Straily, Caleb Smith and Trevor Richards. No starter finished below a 3.90 ERA last season. With the improvements the other NL East teams made, the same could happen this season.
The bullpen is led by Drew Steckenrider, who finished with a 3.90 ERA, 1.268 WHIP and five saves in 64.2 innings. They may go with a committee approach in the ninth inning, so finding a true closer on this team may be difficult.
The Marlins need a lot of help. They need a starting pitcher, a true closer, a shortstop and either a first baseman or corner outfielder. There are plenty of players available on the market but don’t expect them to spend the money to fill those voids.
Miguel Rojas is someone worth watching in Spring Training and early in the season. He’s not listed as a starter but I think he’ll carve himself a role. He hit 11 home runs, 53 RBIs and .252 last season, better than some of the starters. He won’t cost you anything, making him a low-risk bench player.
Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Mets
Key Departures:
Wilmer Flores, Devin Mesoraco, Jose Reyes, Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Austin Jackson, AJ Ramos, Jerry Blevins
Key Additions:
Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Rajai Davis
Most of the trade deadline and the beginning of the offseason was surrounded by the rumor of the Mets trading away Jacob deGrom. However, with the trade that brought in Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, that doesn’t seem likely anymore.
The team also added catcher Wilson Ramos and brought back a familiar face is Jeurys Familia. With both needs filled, the Mets just need a corner infielder. Todd Frazier isn’t going to stay healthy all season and Jeff McNeil doesn’t have much experience playing first base.
They could also use an outfielder. Juan Lagares as the center fielder may not be the best option for this team. Signing someone like Adam Jones could improve the team on both sides of the ball.
As I mentioned here when the trade happened, I don’t expect Diaz to get 50-plus saves again. The Mets bullpen combined for 36 saves last season. Diaz will finish with 40-42 saves this season. Let another owner reach for him in the third or fourth round while you’re waiting to build your bullpen.
The biggest gap the Mets have on offense is shortstop Amed Rosario. He finished with a .256 average but showed improvements in the second half. If he can limit his strikeouts, then he’ll be the breakout hitter from this team.
The starting rotation is the same from last year. deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler and Jason Vargas with Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman as fill-ins. I like them all but Vargas. He did not look good in his 20 starts last year.
The new additions in Cano and Ramos will adjust and hit well in their new surroundings. Outside of the dangerous trio in Washington, the pitching in the NL East isn’t the best. The Mets will be a lot better than they were last season.
Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Nationals
Key Departures:
Bryce Harper, Mark Reynolds, Tanner Roark, Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland, Matt Wieters
Key Additions:
Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez, Yan Gomes, Matt Adams, Trevor Rosenthal, Kurt Suzuki
The Nations have made some interesting moves so far this offseason. They filled their need at catcher with by trading for Yan Gomes and signing Kurt Suzuki. They replaced Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez with Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez.
They have even continued with their revolving door in the bullpen by bringing in veteran Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough in late October. The only void they have yet to fill is the one left by Bryce Harper.
Then again, Nationals management met with Harper recently. Could there be a reunion coming?
Harper’s been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Chicago Cubs and a few more teams. At this point in the offseason, we have no idea where he’s going to play.
As of now, the outfield is Adam Eaton, Juan Soto and Victor Robles. That’s not a bad trio for offense and defense. The infield is the same with Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Howie Kendrick and Ryan Zimmerman. Before getting hurt, Zimmerman was having a great season. The same for Kendrick.
Every position player is ranked by ESPN. Some good, some bad but they’re all on the board. That’s better than you can say for other teams, especially in this division.
The starting rotation is the best the Nationals have had. As long as Corbin performs like last season and Stephen Strasburg can stay healthy, the Nationals will be competing for a division title. I even like Sanchez in this situation. He’ll make for a good SP5 or SP6 in most leagues.
Those in keeper and dynasty leagues already have Soto and Robles locked up, making it hard for me to use them as my breakout player. I’m going to go with the catching combo of Gomes and Suzuki.
Both players had good seasons despite not playing a full year. If you have space, roster them both and start whichever one starts for Washington. An average of 15 home runs with a .268 average is worth having on your fantasy baseball team.
Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Braves
Key Departures:
Nick Markakis, Anibal Sanchez, Kurt Suzuki, Lucas Duda, Brad Brach
Key Additions:
The Braves surprised everyone last season by winning the division. With the group they had, many expected it to happen by 2019 or 2020 the latest. They have a solid structure and just need a couple of more pieces to secure another division.
The front office brought in veterans Josh Donaldson and Brian McCann to fill two important spots. Donaldson will replace Johan Camargo at third base. Donaldson can still hit but his throwing arm was compromised last season. As long as that’s good, he’ll be worth the $23 million.
McCann will replace Suzuki behind the plate and split time with Tyler Flowers. McCann hit .212 with seven home runs last season with the Houston Astros. If he hits like this in 2019, he won’t be starting for long.
The rest of the offense is still intact. Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna are the star hitters. Ozzie Albies exploded in his first full season. Ender Inciarte also looked good. There are a lot of hitters from the Braves you’d want to own, considering they were 10th in runs scored last year.
The pitching trio of Mike Foltynewicz, Julio Teheran and Sean Newcomb were solid. The addition of Kevin Gausman at the trade deadline helped both him and the team. As low-end SP3s, all three have fantasy baseball value.
The bullpen is shaky. Arodys Vizcaino was good in spots but only pitched 38.1 innings. A.J. Minter took over and recorded 15 saves with a 3.23 ERA in 61.1 innings.
Darren O’Day was acquired by the Braves in the Gausman deal. He should be ready to pitch in 2019 and is my sleeper pick of this team. After his 2015 All-Star season, O’Day recorded three straight seasons with ERAs over 3.40. I think he comes back down to Earth and finished with a 2.50 ERA this season. He may record some saves in the process but will most likely be the set-up man.
Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Phillies
Key Departures:
Wilson Ramos, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Carlos Santana, J.P. Crawford
Key Additions:
Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen, Juan Nicasio, Jose Alvarez
The Phillies made a lot of moves over the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, it hasn’t led to a playoff appearance.
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The front office left the starting rotation the way it is. Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta are the two I want. The other names can help with strikeouts but expect at least a 4.20 ERA in the process.
The Phillies bullpen does not have an anchor. Roster Resource lists Seranthony Dominguez as the closer with Tommy Hunter, Pat Neshek, Juan Nicasio and Jose Alvarez behind him. It’s not the best situation. Someone like Zach Britton would be perfect for this team.
Jean Segura should perform well in Philadelphia. He has three straight seasons hitting .300 or better. Hitting behind Andrew McCutchen, Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams will help Segura hit .300 again. Hoskins, Williams and Odubel Herrera will continue to crush the ball but hit under .260.
The Phillies need help on both sides of the ball. They could use another outfielder, a third baseman or shortstop, one more starting pitcher and a closer.
I don’t think McCutchen is an everyday outfielder anymore. Making him the backup will help keep him healthy while improving the team on the field.
Adding another pitcher will help the team. Someone cheap like Wade Miley or Gio Gonzalez will do the trick. It won’t cost a lot and they can get serviceable pitchers out of the deal.
My breakout pick from the Phillies is Scott Kingery. He did not look good in his first season. The pressure was on as soon as he signed that big contract. While he isn’t listed as a starter, I think he’ll improve this Spring Training, forcing management to find a spot for him.
The NL East looks like a three-team race again. The Phillies still need some help but can keep it close all season. The big story is where Realmuto will play this season. Does he stay in Miami or is he traded out of the division and how will that affect his fantasy baseball value?
In the next post, we move to the American League and talk about the West.
Next. NL Central Division Fantasy Breakdown. dark
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