NL East Team Grades
Although November means snow in State College, school’s out and it’s summertime for MLB teams. In the toughest division in baseball, which teams passed and which are going to have to be held back?
Atlanta Braves (101-61): A-
The reigning 2021 champions came back with vengeance. While at one point they were a whopping 10.5 games back from first place, the team rallied and went on a 14-game winning streak in June.
Even this wasn’t enough to capture first place, which came down to an end of season series with the Mets. After sweeping all three games, the Braves took control and they were set up for the postseason as division champions.
In spite of not having a return to the championship, Atlanta had a solid season. They lost one of their most crucial players, Freddie Freeman, in the offseason, but made it work with replacement Matt Olson and breakout rookies such as Micheal Harris II and Spencer Strider.
They are going to be good for a long time, having many players with a bright future locked up on long-term contracts. The Braves will be looking for revenge next season.
New York Mets (101-61): D*
For a team from “The City That Never Sleeps”, this one took a power nap and couldn’t be shook awake.
In terms of the regular season, the Mets were absolutely stellar. They couldn’t ask for anything better. So what killed their chances in the postseason? It was actually finished before it started.
Going into the end of year series against the Braves, there was one mission in mind: don’t get swept. But they did just that and although they ended the season with the same record as Atlanta, they lost the head-to-head record tie-breaker by one game.
The story of the playoffs was simply disappointing. Here was a team that was in first place for every day except eight all season and they ended up losing to the Padres due to a lack of pitching.
It’s easy to claim that this Mets team will be back in years to come, but that is uncertain since many players, including ace Jacob deGrom, are up for free agency this offseason.
*This is a detention notice. The Mets are going to the principal’s office.
Philadelphia Phillies (87-75): A+
There’s no team that shined brighter this season than the Philadelphia Phillies. Even with losing the World Series, there is nothing that could take away the components that made the “Hunt for Red October” successful and even bleed into November.
The Phillies weren’t on anyone’s radar in the regular season. While it was a big deal that they clinched a wild card spot, everyone was focused on the battle between New York and Atlanta.
This all came crashing down when the Fightins’ beat the Braves in the NLDS. They battled through injuries to key players like Bryce Harper, Zach Wheeler and Corey Knebel to be the team from the NL East that made it the farthest.
There’s a bright future for this Philadelphia squad. It’s a team with a huge heart. As long as their bats can stay consistent and their pitching can match, they’ll be a team to be scared of for years to come.
Miami Marlins (69-93): C-
Apparently it doesn’t matter that fish can swim. The Miami Marlins struggled to stay afloat this season and eventually drowned.
The Marlins’ season was disappointing to say the least. Although the hopes for this year weren’t the highest to begin with, the team was plagued with injury and a struggle on offense.
The addition of Joey Wendle allowed for more team depth, but only for about a month. The series right before the All-Star Break didn’t help either, as Miami was swept by the Phillies to end up five games below .500.
There’s not many positives for the Marlins, but Pablo López did have one of his best seasons yet and was solid behind Sandy Alcantara for the starting rotation.
Washington Nationals (55-107): F
It’s hard not to fail a team that records over 100 losses on the season. Especially when that team made some poor choices when it came to trades, including trading both Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
A team suffers after losing their stars. It was an even bigger blow since the Nats lost Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the 2021 Trade Deadline.
There’s not much to say about their year except that they need to make improvements this offseason. This includes either picking up someone for their starting rotation, or making sure that their pitchers are healthy.
Allie Wenskoski is a first-year student studying journalism. To contact her, please email amw7637@psu.edu.
