Red Sox Podcast: The Red Seat Previews the National League

Welcome back to The Red Seat Podcast, episode number 309. This week, Jake Devereaux, Keaton DeRocher, and Bob Osgood tackle part two of their team-by-team MLB preview, looking at the National League. You can listen to Part One here when they went around the American League.

After a brief update on the Lucas Giolito injury, we started our preview in the National League East by looking at the Braves and the Phillies, the strength of the division with the Phillies prevailing in the playoffs two years in a row. Can the Marlins repeat last year’s success riding the arm of Eury Perez? The Mets have an outrageous payroll but won 75 games last year and don’t have much of a pitching staff. When will the Nationals embrace the youth movement and call up their stud prospects?

In the Central, this division looks up for grabs as we try to find a pitching staff worthy of our praise. The Brewers won this division by nine games a year ago but lost their manager Craig Counsell (to a division rival), traded Corbin Burnes, and will be without closer Devin Williams for half of the season. The Cubs narrowly missed the playoffs but their rotation is dicey. The Reds are a top-3 MLB TV entertainment squad but can their young pitching step up? The Cardinals added Sonny Gray and not much else to a 71-win team, and the Pirates are probably a year away from their elite prospects hitting their stride.

Out West, the Dodgers are the odds-on favorite to win the title, as well as have the most wins in baseball. Are they finally built for October? The Diamondbacks won the pennant a year ago but will need to improve on an 84-win output to get back into the dance. Fortunately, they have a team of emerging young bats and arms. The Padres made more significant moves (both incoming and outgoing) than any team in baseball, and with a new manager in Mike Shildt and their latest addition of Dylan Cease, might have the right combination in the clubhouse this season. The Giants’ roster might not jump off the page but they made some sneaky additions in Jung Hoo Lee and Jorge Soler and hope to have the best rookie pitcher in baseball in Kyle Harrison. And the Rockies... well, they should suck again.

If you have a question for an upcoming Red Seat pod, you can email us at [email protected] or tweet us. On Twitter, Jake is @DevJake, Keaton is @TheSpokenKeats and Bob is @BobOsgood15. Thanks for listening!