It’s been almost five months since the Boston Red Sox downed the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the World Series and were crowned world champs. Since then many players have changed uniforms as the league kicks off a fresh season.

Former National Bryce Harper is now a Phillie. Former Dodger Manny Machado is now a Padre. Former Diamondback Paul Goldschmidt is now a Cardinal. The list goes on and on.

For some teams the feeling is World Series or bust while others are set up to contend for a playoff spot. For most fans the feeling of optimism is in the air.

With opening day in the rearview, here are my predictions for the 2019 Major League Baseball National League divisions.

 

National League East Champions: Atlanta Braves

While the Phillies made the big splash signing Bryce Harper, the Atlanta Braves are still the best team in the division.

They seemed to come out of nowhere last season, propelled by the their youngs stars Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. The Braves spent their money making underrated signings and shoring up their already solid roster.

While they will have more competition within the division, Atlanta has a good shot at repeating as NL East Champs.

 

Second – Philadelphia Phillies: Last year the Phillies finished 80-82 and third place in the division. While the addition of Harper obviously will help their win total, it won’t quite be enough to push them to the top of the division.

The additions of infielder Jean Segura and outfielder Andrew McCutchen have gone under the radar, but the entirety of the pitching staff still lacks consistency to contend against the solid Braves.

Expect the Phillies to be in the contention for a wild card spot and to have weeks where they look like the best team in baseball and others where they struggle to score a run.

 

Third – Washington Nationals: Despite having one of the most talented rosters in baseball over the last few years, the Nationals have wildly underachieved.

Washington may have lost Harper but don’t expect them to fall off a cliff. They still have a great pitching staff led by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Harper brought firepower to their lineup that they will miss.

Nationals are built for pitching and contact hitting and will hang order for the majority of the season.

 

Fourth – New York Mets: The Mets seemed destined for another season of mediocrity. Their starting rotation is anchored by stars in Jacob Degrom and Noah Syndergaard, but their lineup isn’t impressing anyone.

After finishing 13 games behind first last season, we could be in for a repeat performance in 2019.

 

Fifth – Miami Marlins: Miami has done little to install optimism into their fans. After trading away their core with Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna in recent years, the team is once again without direction.

The Marlins won 63 games in 2018 and after trading away even more pieces this offseason they may struggle to even reach last year’s total.

 

National League Central Champions: Chicago Cubs

The Cubs had a horrible second half of the season in 2018 and allowed the Brewers to catch them in the standings. Chicago lost a decisive game 163 and fell to the Colorado Rockies in the wild card game.

Now with a new pitching and hitting coach the Cubs look ready to retake the division. Look for Yu Darvish and Kris Bryant to have bounce back years and help carry Chicago to a hard-fought division title.

The NL Central was the best in baseball last year and that doesn’t look to be changing any time soon.

 

Second – Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers came back in the second half and took the division right out from under the Cubs last year. Mostly due to the dominance of NL MVP Yelich and their impressive bullpen.

It’s hard to imagine they will be able to replicate that performance for a second consecutive year. The Brewers are still a very strong team that will contend for the division and a wild card spot all season long.

 

Third – St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals seemed tired of finishing behind the Cubs and Brewers in recent years when they trade for star first-baseman Goldschmidt. While he adds a lot to the already dangerous St.Louis lineup, it won’t be enough to overtake their divisional rivals.

They finished with 88 wins last year and due to the competition in the central that number seems to be a realistic number for 2019.

Expect the Cardinals to contend for a wild card spot and be a force in the incredibly strong NL central.

 

Fourth – Cincinnati Reds: Cincinnati might have secretly won the offseason. Trading for Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp while resigning Sonny Gray means the Reds should top their 67 win total from last season

In another division the Reds may very well compete for a wild card spot but have to face the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals as much as they do will hurt their amount of wins in the end.

 

Fifth – Pittsburgh Pirates: It’s been awhile since the Pirates were legitimate contenders and that won’t change this year. After failing to improve through free agency the Pirates will have to rely on contributions from young unproven prospects.

While they won’t be awful, Pittsburgh looks headed for the bottom of their division and will have a sit through a lot season.

 

 

National League West Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers

Even with improvements to their division rivals, the Dodgers are far away the best team in the NL West. Coming off their sixth straight division title and another trip to the World series, they are not slowing down.

Los Angeles might have traded some key pieces in Puig and Kemp but the Dodgers do not rebuild, they just reload. Even with an aging Clayton Kershaw leading the way they look just as poised as every to dominate their NL West counterparts.

Look for the Dodgers to make another deep playoff run after filling holes in their roster before the trading deadline.

 

Second – Colorado Rockies: The Rockies should be were they normally are at the end of the season, second behind LA. Adding bats like Daniel Murphy will help them score runs, but their flaky pitching staff that has to throw at Coors Field half the time will struggle.

Of course any lineup that is anchored by the perennial MVP candidate Nolan Arenado will be dangerous, but not enough to get them over the hump.

Look for the Rockies to try and land a wild card spot and watch the Dodgers finish ahead of them yet again.

 

Third – San Diego Padres: The Padres have spend money the last two offseasons with the hope of pairing their stars with some of the best prospects in the game

Eric Hosmer and Machado bring veteran leadership but more importantly accountability. The young Padres take a step forward in their development

In the end they are still a year or two away from serious contention leaving them in the middle of the NL East.

 

Fourth – Arizona Diamondbacks: Arizona made a decision to move on from Goldschmidt and in essence signed up to live in the bottom of the standings. The only reason they are last in the division is because San Francisco will be just as bad.

In the past few years Arizona has watched more stars leaving than coming and with Zack Greinke on the older side for pitchers, it could be a tough year for the Diamondbacks.

 

Fifth – San Francisco Giants: The days of seeing the Giants in the World Series every other year are long gone

San Francisco seems stuck in a transitional period with an expensive mix of veterans and no real plan for the future. After flirting with signing Machado and Harper, the Giants roster looks destined for the bottom of the NL West