After failing to reach the postseason and an overall disappointing campaign last year, reigning National League MVP Bryce Harper is excited about the new season and is looking forward to leading the Nationals to a playoff berth this year.
For one thing, Harper is eager and ready to work with some new members of the coaching staff. With the firing of former manager Matt Williams, the Nationals have hired Dusty Baker to take his place. Baker has years of coaching experience as he’s had managerial stints with the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and, most recently, the Cincinnati Reds during the 2008-2013 seasons.
Baker has a reputation for being a “player’s manager,” and Harper definitely appreciates the new face in the clubhouse.
Harper talked about adjusting to his new manager.
“It’s been a blast — being able to play for a manager that really understands the grind of 162, is definitely all about family, understands aspects of life off the field as well as on the field — we’re very excited to have him,” Harper told the MLB Network.
Some other key additions to the team include the signing of former New York Mets second-baseman Daniel Murphy and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Ben Revere.
Murphy is coming off an incredible post-season where he launched seven homeruns, collected 19 hits and scored 13 runs in just 14 games.
With clutch hitting and a monstrous batting average, Murphy helped lift the Mets past the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series (NLDS) and Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) on their way to reaching the World Series for the first time since 2000.
By signing Murphy to a three-year, $37.5 million dollar contract, the Nationals are adding a strong and much-needed left-handed batter to supplement the Nationals’ lineup.
With the departure of the Nationals’ former leadoff-hitter, Denard Span, Revere will serve to fill his void and act as a speedy, table-setter at the top of the batting order.
Aside from Span, some other prominent subtractions from the Nationals’ roster include shortstop Ian Desmond and starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister.
Despite these transactions, the core of the team is still intact.
Of course, young phenom Bryce Harper will lead the charge as he looks to replicate his stellar MVP performance from last season, in which he blasted 42 homers, notched 99 RBIs and scored 118 runs while posting an excellent .330 batting average and 1.109 OPS.
Besides the powerful presence of Harper, the Nationals hope their lineup will be rejuvenated with returning players like Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth, who are all coming back from injury-plagued seasons last year. When healthy, the Nationals’ lineup has the potential to be very potent, capable of scoring a lot of runs and putting up big-time numbers on the scoreboard.
On the mound, the Nationals are led by power-arm starting pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. In 2015, Scherzer threw two no-hitters while sporting a 2.79 ERA, 276 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.92. Scherzer finished fifth in the National League Cy Young voting. In limited time due to injury, Strasburg managed to post an 11-7 record while posting a 3.46 ERA, 155 strikeouts and 0.96 WHIP in 23 games started. Together, this dynamic duo can present a real nightmare to opposing lineups.
While the Nationals’ organization has high expectations for itself and is poised to make a run for the playoffs, the road to capturing the N.L. East division title won’t be easy.
A prominent obstacle standing in their way is the reigning National League Champions, the New York Mets. A large part of the Met’s success last season can be attributed to the team’s formidable starting pitching rotation. Boasting a trio of young, flame-throwing pitchers in Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, the Mets possess one of the most dominant starting rotations in Major League Baseball. With their electric stuff, this young core of talent will be haunting hitters in the batter’s box all season long.
On the offensive end, the Mets’ lineup will be ignited by the return of Yoenis Cespedes, as he re-signed with the Mets to a three-year deal worth $75 million. Cespedes will be a major key to the Mets’ offense along with captain David Wright, Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson.
Down in Miami, the Marlins are looking to contend in the N.L. East as well. After hiring new manager, Don Mattingly, the Marlins are looking to turn around their franchise and build a winning culture. Highlighted by superstar-slugger Giancarlo Stanton, speedster and hitting machine Dee Gordon and ace pitcher Jose Fernandez, the Marlins possess a solid core of young talent that will be a tough team to compete with.
At the bottom of the division, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are in rebuilding stages of their respective franchises. Neither team will really be a legitimate contender for the N.L. East Division title.
With the beginning of the 2016 regular season underway, the Nationals have high hopes of finishing at the top of the division come September. Led by the mighty bat of Bryce Harper and pitching aces Scherzer and Strasburg, the Nationals are poised to rebound from last year and make a deep run in the postseason.
As for the reigning N.L. MVP, he’s feeling pretty confident and has high expectations of his team this coming season.
Harper told the Washington Post, “We’re a great team, we’re a great organization. I think we have the staff, I think we have the coaches and manager to do it, and I truly think we have the lineup to be one of the best lineups in all of baseball. Very excited for this year to come, and we’ll see what happens.”
