The Z Files: NL East Playing Time Preview

It's time to take our journey through the divisions to the Senior Circuit, beginning with the National League East. Part 4 of the series begins in the nation's capital, then heads down to South Beach before turning around, stopping in Atlanta then ending up in the Big Apple and the City of Brotherly Love. Something tells me the order of finish will be a little different in 2018.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Catcher

Matt Wieters is back, but the club has announced its intentions to cut back on his playing time, something to note for mixed leagues. They also expressed satisfaction with youngster Pedro Severino as his backup. If the Nationals stick to this plan and don't bring in a veteran, Severino becomes relevant in NL-only formats requiring two backstops.

Infield

The only change in personnel is Matt Adams coming in to take Adam Lind's spot. So long as Ryan Zimmerman stays healthy, Adams will be relegated to a reserve role. Zimmerman avoided injury last season, but a history of back and shoulder woes makes counting on a second straight healthy season a risk. Somewhat out of the blue, in October it was announced Daniel Murphy underwent articular cartilage surgery in his right knee. It's uncertain, if not unlikely, he'll be ready for Opening Day, with Wilmer Difo the in-house candidate to play second in Murphy's stead.

Outfield

Adam Eaton returns, likely earmarked for left field with Michael Taylor roaming center. The big question is when the Nationals hand those center-field keys to top prospect Victor Robles instead. The early thinking is Robles will head to Triple-A Syracuse for a couple of months, at which point his promotion will depend on how well Taylor is playing. The expectation is Robles will return to the bigs at some point in 2018, but he probably won't be called up as early as Ronald Acuna, who will be discussed later.

Starting Pitching

The window to win with this core is rapidly closing, so I expect Washington to upgrade the back end of their rotation. The front end is obviously set with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, followed by regression candidate Gio Gonzalez and steady Tanner Roark. The fifth spot is up for grabs between Erick Fedde, A.J. Cole and maybe Tommy Milone, unless they bring someone in. I anticipate a veteran acquisition, who automatically gains fantasy interest, backed by a good offense in a nice place to pitch.

MIAMI MARLINS

I really feel like writing "delete, delete, delete" in this section. Sometimes I do jokes just for the pro wrestling fans on staff and among the readers.

Infield

There's a reasonable chance Starlin Castro will have been traded away by a team just before they win the World Series for the second time in three offseasons. Assuming he isn't flipped by the Fish, Castro will join Justin Bour on the right side. The left side is unclear with J.T. Riddle and Miguel Rojas duking it out for the right not to be drafted in mixed leagues despite holding a starting shortstop gig, while Derek Dietrich, Martin Prado and BrIan Anderson do the same at the hot corner.

Outfield

Assuming Christian Yelich isn't dealt, he could be undervalued if the market overreacts to the Marlins' fire sale. With J.T. Realmuto in the mix, the top of the order with Yelich, Castro and Bour will generate some runs – obviously not as many as last season, but more than some are expecting. The other two outfield spots are completely up in the air. Prado and Dietrich are possibilities. Past that, who knows?

Starting Pitching

Miami has some in-house options; a couple may even be fantasy worthy for streaming purposes. Dan Straily is the de facto staff ace. Wei-Yin Chen is expected back with Jose Urena and Dillon Peters likely breaking camp in the rotation. Peters is intriguing as is Urena, though the latter needs to miss more bats before he's mixed-league relevant. The last spot will be a mix of Justin Nicolino, Vance Worley and Odrisamer Despaigne. The names to monitor are Zac Gallen and Sandy Alcantara, a couple of promising arms acquired in the recent deals.

Bullpen

Does it matter? Saves are saves so someone will settle for Brad Ziegler. The two guys I'm looking at are Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider. Both are high-strikeout arms capable of supporting ratios. Barraclough will cost more and is risky with a high walk rate. Steckenrider should be go for next to nothing and is the ideal reliever to target in the end game in NL-only, and the reserve rounds in mixed leagues.

ATLANTA BRAVES

Catcher

Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki will again share the squatting behind the dish. Hopefully you don't need me to tell you both should regress from last season. I expect Suzuki's fall to be steeper, eventually leading to more playing time for Flowers.

Infield

The right side is set with Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies. The left side is somewhat muddled with Dansby Swanson not yet possessing a firm grasp on the shortstop gig. I expect he wins the job in the spring with Johan Camargo sliding over to the hot corner. Or, someone like Adonis Garcia or Rio Ruiz emerges in the spring, pushing Camargo into a utility role. There's another rookie in Atlanta garnering all the pub but don't forget about Austin Riley, the likely future at third, perhaps even later this season.

Outfield

I've teased him twice already, but look for Acuna to get the Kris Bryant treatment, staying in Triple-A for a couple of weeks so the Braves get an extra year of control. The delay won't last until the Super-Two date. He'll essentially play the entire season, something made more obvious by the Matt Kemp trade. Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis return in the other two spots.

Starting Pitching

The Braves are taking the unorthodox route of stockpiling a treasure trove of young arms, hoping a few manifest into front-end rotation staples. They're also hedging this season with a few veterans while the likes of Luiz Gohara, Max Fried, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright, Touki Toussaint and Joey Wentz continue to mature at various levels in the Braves system. Obviously, some will be converted to the bullpen (Toussaint?) but there's some high-upside arms looking to join Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims, likely to break camp with Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz. Recently acquired Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir are the veteran placeholders.

Bullpen

Arodys Vizcaino deserves the closer role out of the gate and with Jim Johnson no longer in the picture, he'll get it. The other Braves reliever to consider is A.J. Minter, who has closer skills as well.

NEW YORK METS

Infield

The club is showing their hand with respect to Dominic Smith, actively pursuing other first baseman, including Adrian Gonzalez. Amed Rosario struggled a bit in his inaugural campaign, but is still the future at shortstop. Asdrubal Cabrera will play somewhere, likely third with Wilmer Flores the in-house option for second base. There's a bunch of decent keystone sackers on the market so Flores may not be long for the starting role.

Outfield

Yoenis Cespedes is a bit of a forgotten man, but he was well on his way to a third straight 30-plus homer campaign before injuries dragged him down. Currently it's just narrative noise, but the early word is Cespedes is changing up his offseason routine to include more of a flexibility and agility focus, hoping to stave off the leg issues that have plagued him throughout his career. Michael Conforto is likely looking at a debut a few weeks into the season, paving a spot for some combo of Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo. I expect the Mets to bring in another outfielder, as they can't begin the season with both of those chasing flies.

Starting Pitching

Past the "you know how he's good but he's better than you realize" Jacob deGrom, issues abound. How many innings with Noah Syndergaard throw? Can pitching coach Dave Eiland fix Matt Harvey, both on and off the field? Is Zack Wheeler the real deal, another year removed from TJS? Can either Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman emerge? For fantasy purposes, Syndergaard is the big question mark. There's some talk he dials down the velocity to stay on the mound. Will this affect his performance? His slider is faster than a lot of fastballs. After throwing only 30.1 stanzas last season, how many will be toss in 2018? Pitching is already so precarious this year. If I have shares in any Mets hurlers, it will be deGrom, with maybe some Wheeler.

Bullpen

New York has announced they'll play the matchups, so Jeurys Familia may not see all the save chances. We've heard this before. We're dealing with a new skipper in Mickey Callaway so I don't want to dismiss this as rhetoric, but I'm not dropping Familia very far down my rankings. AJ Ramos and Anthony Swarzak stand to benefit if the committee approach sticks.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Catcher

Top prospect Jorge Alfaro is poised to take over No. 1 duties, pushing Cameron Rupp to backup. Andrew Knapp could even displace Rupp.

Infield

Newly acquired Carlos Santana should enjoy Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies opened up shortstop for J.P. Crawford, will they do the same for Scott Kingery at second base? Many feel Cesar Hernandez will follow Freddy Galvis out the door in a trade. He probably will, but I see no reason to do it now and expect the move to be done midseason. Maikel Franco deserves another shot at third and appears to be getting it.

Outfield

Here's where it gets interesting. Santana's acquisition pushes last season's second-half sensation Rhys Hoskins to the outfield, forcing one of Aaron Altherr, Odubel Herrera or Nick Williams into a bench role. Or, one could also be trade bait. Most feel Herrera is safe, seeing as he's the best center fielder of the group. If this were a fantasy question ("Who should I trade, Altherr or Williams?"), my reply would be whichever gets you the better return. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia deals with the logjam.

Starting Pitching

The Phillies have some exciting arms in the lower minors. While waiting for those to develop, they're hoping someone steps up, joining emerging ace Aaron Nola. Jerad Eickhoff has the stuff if he could gain some consistency. The jury is still out on Vince Velasquez, both in terms of health and role. Actually, one could impact the other if it's deemed he's better off in the bullpen. Nick Pivetta showed some promise early but faded late. There's talk the Phils are in the market for a top arm. Personally, I'd love to see it. I like what this team is doing.

Bullpen

Hector Neris quietly had a solid season and should begin 2018 as the closer. The Phillies have demonstrated they're not afraid to pull the plug, though I expect Neris to get the job done and will happily take any discount a reticent market offers.

Next week: NL Central

Previous installments: AL East, AL Central, AL West