This is my Sports World News (@SportsWN) National League preview. This will feature how the standings play out, plus a team MVP for each club. Some of the MVPs will be obvious, others won't.
In addition I'll give my playoff picks, awards predictions, and make five bold calls for you guys to call me out on later.
National League East:
- Washington Nationals (Bryce Harper)
- Atlanta Braves (Freddie Freeman)
- New York Mets (David Wright)
- Philadelphia Phillies (Jimmy Rollins)
- Miami Marlins (Giancarlo Stanton)
If I'm wrong: The Phillies aging core finds the fountain of youth, while the top of the rotation excels and keeps Philly in the race for 2nd place.
National League Central:
- St. Louis Cardinals (Matt Carpenter)
- Milwaukee Brewers (Jonathan Lucroy)
- Cincinnati Reds (Joey Votto)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (Andrew McCutchen)
- Chicago Cubs (Jeff Samardzija)
If I'm wrong: The Brewers arms underperform, and their shaky bullpen implodes, with the Reds and Pirates leaving them in the dust.
National League West:
- Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw)
- San Francisco Giants (Pablo Sandoval)
- San Diego Padres (Jedd Gyorko)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (Paul Goldschmidt)
- Colorado Rockies (Carlos Gonzalez)
If I'm wrong: The Dodgers suffer injuries to their stars, and the Giants' pitching carries them to an NL West crown.
PLAYOFFS:
Division Winners: Nationals, Cardinals, Dodgers
Wildcards: Giants, Braves
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Carlos Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, Cliff Lee, Clayton Kershaw
NL Rookie of the Year: Billy Hamilton, Maikel Franco, Archie Bradley
Five bold calls:
- Ike Davis hits 30+ home runs and bats .250
- Pablo Sandoval wins the NL batting title
- Carlos Gonzalez has a 30/30 season with a .300 batting average, plays 145 games.
- Yasiel Puig leads the NL in hit by pitch.
- B.J. Upton has a 20/20 season.
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