The MLB lockout has ended, and baseball is back! As DFS players shift from winter sports like NBA and NHL to a summer mindset, Razzle brings everyone up to speed on who went where and what teams might be offensive juggernauts prime for some daily fantasy stacks anchoring those winning lineups.
We aren’t yet 100% sure what rosters will look like for every team, as there are still some free agents dangling on the vine. Below, I am going to look at the NL East. I will give my thoughts on guys set up for big seasons when it comes to DFS MLB.
MLB NL East – Philadelphia Phillies
Jul 6, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
The Phillies looked like a team that would add pitching but they missed on the SPs. When the dust settled, they decided to grab a couple of big FA bats. The additions of Schwarber and Castellanos make this lineup extremely difficult to navigate. They did add some bullpen help but this team is looking to slug their way to the postseason.
Alec Bohm needs to bounce back to make this lineup elite. He has the track record from his minor league days so I wouldn’t be shocked at all. If Didi falters at all at shortstop, the Phillies have a top-100 prospect in Bryson Stott ready to go.
When it comes to NL East pitching, I honestly like what the team has as far as the starting staff. In the DFS world, we love using a metric we invented called KScore. KScore combines the strikeout ability of pitchers and compares it to the daily opponent’s strikeout percentage…spotting key matchups slipping under the DFS radar. (See how it works here.)
The bullpen has been their Achilles heel for a couple of seasons at this point. With the additions of Knebel, Familia, and Hand the Phillies are trying to stabilize at the back end to help their strong starters out. Those 3 arms definitely have some mileage on them but they are all filthy when they are on.
Overall, I believe that the Phillies are going to step up and either rely on the staff as is or make a deal for one more SP. The lineup should be pretty deep with just a couple of question marks in Bohm and whoever plays CF. Moniak has 5 HRs this spring and might get the first crack at the CF job. I realize this is somewhat bold based on the fact that the Braves are the defending champs and the Mets have some big SPs.
Atlanta Braves
Oct 7, 2019; St. Louis, MO, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) hits a ground-rule double in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the 2019 NLDS playoff baseball series at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
I am honestly shocked that Freddie Freeman is no longer in a Braves uniform. We don’t really know what went down behind the scenes but the Braves moved on and acquired Matt Olson. Olson is definitely younger and full of power but he just is not Freddie Freeman at this point. Acuna’s return from a torn ACL is going to be extremely important for this squad. They also need Riley to continue his ascension with Rosario, Swanson, Duvall, and Ozuna stepping up.
The overall MLB lineup is going to be pretty strong, with a couple of weaker spots near the bottom on a daily basis. During the spring, this squad has struggled a bit offensively but I expect them to wake up to begin the season. Austin Riley is the big name to watch for the Braves this season, especially at a weak position. I suspect he will be featured a ton in our MLB Research Station Hot Stacks Tab.
Max Fried is a popular darkhorse Cy Young choice this season. I can’t argue against it, especially with the injuries going on in New York. Fried and Morton are going to need to carry the rotation through some bumps with the young guys that follow them. Kenley Jansen left the Dodgers to sign with the Braves and it should create one of the top bullpens in ALL of baseball.
There is still plenty of upside with this lineup without Freeman. Olson is going to hit plenty of HRs while drawing walks. Guys like Riley, Duvall, and Ozuna have plenty of power to add after Olson. Once again, the key to this team is the return of Acuna Jr. If he returns to the superstar role immediately, this team may not see much drop off from the end of last season.
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New York Mets
Aug 26, 2020; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets upgraded in a lot of places but we are still seeing the injury bug show up. deGrom is slated to miss some time with a shoulder issue and now Max Scherzer is dealing with a hamstring. It sounds like the Mets are trying to pick up another SP in the trade market so this roster is far from set. The lineup is going to do some solid things overall but I think it lags behind the two teams above.
When are we going to see deGrom and Scherzer pitch back-to-back? As a pure baseball fan, I want to see deGrom have healthy seasons because he’s such a special talent. Bassitt was a great pick-up from the A’s and one player that can’t be overlooked. I do have some worries about the bullpen but they have some strong names led by Diaz and May at the back-end.
My plan is to carefully watch the Domination Station Optimizer’s love of an MLB stat like ISO and prepare myself to cut down my exposure to them until the weather heats up a little in NYC.
Much of this team’s hopes rely on the shoulder of deGrom and the hamstring of Scherzer. When the offense gets rolling, I can see them hitting some HRs and doing some scoring but they have a number of bats that can get ice-cold. I am really interested in seeing how they incorporate Cano back into the lineup.
Miami Marlins
It was really weird to see Derek Jeter step down. I think it was very telling based on what was going on between the owners and players during the lockout. This Marlins squad has some talent but it’s going to be very inconsistent. I was shocked to see them bring in Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler.
There are plenty of holes in the MLB lineup as they will strike out plenty over the course of the season. They have 123 Ks over 13 spring training games so far, which feels like a lot. The roster has an OPS of .692 in those 13 games. There will be some exciting times when guys like Chisholm and Sanchez are hot at the plate.
This starting staff is going to be pretty sneaky in my opinion and the farm system is loaded with talented arms. The bullpen should provide some strong K numbers but there are going to be some unknown names seeing plenty of innings.
When it comes to DFS, I don’t see myself jumping on the Marlins all too often. There will be stretches where a guy like Chisholm is on fire and becomes a strong one-off option in our builds. Soler, Garcia, and Aguilar should provide some pop for one-off reasons in our GPP builds but there is nothing safe about the lineup.
Washington Nationals
Aug 24, 2020; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Juan Soto (22) hits a single against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
I do feel sorry for Juan Soto. He’s about as elite as they come as far as hitters go. I was shocked when Nelson Cruz signed with the Nationals as I just don’t think they have any kind of a playoff shot. Soto had such a monstrous second half last season (which this guy predicted in our forums).
Soto and Cruz will make a great combination in the middle of this lineup. You can add Josh Bell and make it an interesting 3-man stack, that should be solid. The rest of the lineup is going to be pretty rough if you ask me. We could see castoffs like Maikel Franco and Alcides Escobar in the infield.
When they traded Scherzer last season, it signaled the end of an era in Washington. The team used to have a massive rotation. Strasburg is the only guy standing and he’s coming back from surgery. I believe the Nats are hoping he gets them 20 starts this season. The rest of the rotation is really weak but it does have upside from a youngster like Gray. The bullpen isn’t one to be afraid of at this point.
This season is going to be rough for the Nationals. Soto is going to always be in the MVP discussion but the team needs a LOT to go well in order to compete or finish around .500, in my opinion. A mini-stack is always going to be played while Soto will ALWAYS be a one-off candidate. I am going to find it really hard to use any of the SPs based on what I have seen this spring.
MY PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Atlanta Braves
- New York Mets
- Miami Marlins
- Washington Nationals
The start of the 2022 MLB season is just over a week away, thankfully. It was a long offseason with a lot of unknowns thanks to the lockout. After all of the struggles, we’ve gotten to witness a somewhat abbreviated spring training. Over the next week, I am going to preview each division in baseball and then I will finish with a DFS season preview. I should introduce myself, I am Eric Rasmussen (@Razzle11Grinds on Twitter) and I cover MLB and CBB for DFS Army.
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