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To get a sense of how competitive the National League is, look at the projected win totals in the East: Phillies, 89.5; Nationals, 87.5; Mets and Braves, 84.5.
One-by-one, those four teams took turns adding firepower this offseason. Josh Donaldson, Yan Gomes, Edwin Diaz, Patrick Corbin, Jean Segura, Robinson Cano, Brian Dozier, Andrew McCutcheon and Jed Lowrie are just some of the stars coming to the NL East.
The Phillies struck within the division, too, importing C JT Realmuto and OF Bryce Harper.
This is going to be a fun race all season long. Frankly, with 76 games to play against these four teams, it's hard to see how the woeful Marlins get to their Vegas win projection (65.5). I would take the Under on that one.
If Major League Baseball has a tanking and competitiveness problem, it isn't found in the senior circuit. In fact, the leagues stand in stark contrast to one another on this issue.
Full disclosure: I am an NL guy. Always have been. Having said that, it is hard to see any juice in the American League in 2019.
It will be an epic upset if the five playoff teams do not include the New York Yankees (95.5), Boston Red Sox (95.5), Houston Astros (96.5) and Cleveland Indians (90.5).
Perhaps you are jazzed for the expected race for the final wild-card spot among the Twins (84.5), Rays (84.5) and A's (83.5). I am not.
Of the teams starting a teardown/rebuild -- Tigers, Orioles, Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, Diamondbacks -- most are in the AL. Add those teams to the dreadful squads who have already bottomed out, like the White Sox and Royals, and you're going to have some terribly boring Thursday afternoon getaway games in the junior circuit.
Of course, we'll still be treated to 14 ESPN Sunday Night games between the Red Sox and Yankees to see who is the division winner and who is the wild card. Bucky Dent will not be seen in these games.
And the NL is deeper than just the East. Over in the Central, The Cubs (88.5), Cardinals (88.5) and defending champion Brewers (84.5) will slug it out.
Personally, I think the Brewers are the best team there, but we shall see.
Only the Dodgers (94.5) out West are a near playoff lock in the NL. Even the teams projected to be outside the playoff race, such as the Reds and Padres, have made enough significant offseason additions to draw interest.
The NL is going to be fun all summer long.
