NL Playoff Preview

With the season winding down, the contenders have been separated from the pretenders in the National League. Six teams have put there attention towards next year, the Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Rockies, Brewers, and Reds. The Padres and Diamondbacks are long shots at this point. Even the Nationals chances aren't looking very good. Like with the American League preview, I'll list the teams in order of their World Series chances (starting with the least likely).

Washington Nationals

Overview

Going into the season, the Nationals were among the favorites to reach the World Series. After the signing of Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper declared, "where's my ring at, bro." While Harper and Scherzer have both produced, the Nats have been decimated by injuries and poor performance. Anthony Rendon, Denard Span, and Jayson Werth missed big chunks of the year, while many other regular players have had down years. Stephen Strasburg has battled injuries and hasn't pitched well until recently. Gio Gonzalez has an ERA over 4, and Doug Fister has been shifted to the bullpen. The rotation hasn't lived up to the preseason hype.

Verdict

The Nats have fallen 6.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East. They are even farther behind the Cubs for the second wild card spot. Washington's playoff chances aren't looking very good at this point. It would take a huge winning streak for the Nats to get back into serious contention.

Chicago Cubs

Overview

I have mocked the Cubs chances several times this year, and they sit in third place. However, that third place ranking comes with the fourth best record in baseball. In another division, they would be in first place. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant both had All Star seasons, and helped improve the Cubs offense this year. The offseason addition of Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero were also a big help. Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber are two other rookies that have made a big impact. The addition of Jon Lester was designed to improve the pitching, but the emergence of two other pitchers have made the difference. Jake Arrieta has gone 16-6 with a 2.22 ERA, and has been one the NL's best pitchers. Closer Hector Rondon has had a breakout season as Chicago's closer, and has a 1.55 ERA.

Verdict

Joe Maddon has done a great job with this young team on the North Side. This team will likely find itself in a do or die Wild Card Game against division rival Pittsburgh. In the best season this organization has had since 2008, they could find their October run over in one game. If they do manage to win the Wild Card Game, a Division Series against the Cardinals would be waiting for them.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Overview

The biggest strength of the Dodgers is their combination of Zack Greinke (14-3, 1.61) and Clayton Kershaw  (10-6, 2.29) at the top of the rotation. It's easy to see a historical comparison between these two pitchers and Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. While they Greinke and Kershaw have the Cy Young Award pedigree that Drysdale and Koufax had, they have not had the postseason success to match it. Offensively, the roster if full of big name stars, but they don't seem to have the same grit that teams like the Cardinals and Giants have.

Verdict

The Dodgers still have the same flaws that the Cardinals exposed the past two postseasons, lack of rotation depth after Kershaw/Greinke and a thin bullpen. Los Angeles maintains a 2.5 game lead against their arch rival Giants, and this race is the most competitive in the National League. This team is certainly talented enough to make a deep run into the postseason, but given their recent history, I would expect more disappointment for Dodgers fans.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Overview

The Pirates set a goal of winning the NL Central, but despite having baseball's third best record they are still in second place behind St. Louis. In the NL East, they would 6.5 games up ahead of the Mets. The Pirates would be 7 games ahead of the Dodgers if they were in the NL West. Since they play in the same division as the Cardinals, they are 4.5 games out of first place. While they still have time to take first, they most likely will host their third straight Wild Card Game. The Pirates have a very good team, that ranks among the league's best in offense, defense, and pitching.

Verdict

One big question is who will the Pirates start in the Wild Card Game? Will it be Gerrit Cole or Francisco Liriano? Andrew McCutchen's team is looking to advance further into the playoffs, but it will be a tough road for Pittsburgh that goes through St. Louis.

San Francisco Giants

Overview

For a team that wouldn't make the playoffs if the season ended today, I have them ranked pretty high. Given their recent stretch of postseason dominance, why wouldn't I? This is the same team that won the World Series after barely winning the last wild card spot last year. They have also won the World Series in 2010 and 2012. After losing Pablo Sandoval to free agency, the Giants have replaced him internally with Matt Duffy. Duffy is one of the leading Rookie of the Year candidates, and has had a much better year than Sandoval has with Boston. They have also overcome injuries to Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, Joe Panik, and several different starting pitchers.

Verdict

Buster Posey has had another MVP caliber season, but the improved performance of Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford has been the difference for the Giants. The Giants offense was thought to be weak after losing Sandoval and Michael Morse, but they rank third in the NL in runs scored. Madison Bumgarner has shown no signs of last year's postseason innings load affecting him this year. There are some question marks behind Bumgarner, but the Giants have a lot of pitching depth. Bruce Bochy also seems to know all the right buttons to push in October. A dangerous team if they qualify for the postseason.

New York Mets

Overview

The Mets have been one of the hottest teams in the league in the second half. They are firing on all cylinders, and the offense has improved with the addition of Yoenis Cespedes and the return of David Wright from the disabled list. They seem to have a different hero every night offensively. The pitching is what's really scary about this team to opponents. In a short series, New York can trot out Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard. The back end of the bullpen with Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia is very solid as well.

Verdict

Despite their lack of playoff experience, the Mets aren't a team that other teams want to play in October. Their combination of dominant pitching and timely hitting could sink an opposing team in a short series.

St. Louis Cardinals

Overview

The season couldn't have gone better for the Cardinals, despite all of the injuries. Every time a key player goes down, someone else steps up. The team's ERA is historically low at 2.66, and every starting pitcher (Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, Lance Lynn, John Lackey, and Jaime Garcia) has an ERA under 3. The back end of the bullpen with Kevin Siegrist and Trevor Rosenthal has been dominant this year. The offense has been hit or miss, but has heated up lately. Numerous players such as Matt Holliday, Matt Adams, Jon Jay, and Randal Grichuk could be ready to return from the disabled list in September.

Verdict

The Cardinals currently sit at 82-45, at 37 games over .500. They can't afford to let off the gas with the Pirates and Cubs on their tails. That might pay off come October, keeping this team sharp. This looks to be a 100 win team. More often than not, the team with the best record in baseball doesn't win the World Series. For example the 2004 Cardinals, who won 105 games. That's not always the case either, as the Yankees have done both  a couple different occasions (1998 and 2009). The Cardinals show no signs of letting up, and are the team to beat this October.