Last season the Atlanta Braves rode a historic offense to 104 wins. They were the first team in MLB history to have a slug over .500 as a team, and they tied the single season home run record with the 2019 Minnesota Twins. However, the team that eliminated the Braves in the NLDS beat Atlanta at their own game thanks to some firepower of their own.
As we look ahead to 2024, the two best lineups in the NL East last season hasn't seen a ton of movement in their everyday lineups. So who has the better 2024 lineup, the Braves or the Phillies? Did the other NL East teams do enough to close the gap on these powerful lineups atop the division? With key free agents still out there things can obviously change, but we're going to attempt to rank these NL East 2024 projected lineups anyway.
Disclaimer: Each team projected lineup is of players on the roster as of January 21, 2024. Each lineup will include each player's steamer projections via Fangraphs.
5. Washington Nationals
1. C.J. Abrams - Shortstop - .260/.311/.421, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 35 SB
2. Lane Thomas - Right Field - .248/.310/.434, 24 HR, 75 RBI, 15 SB
3. Keibert Ruiz - Catcher - .270/.325/.439, 18 HR, 68 RBI, 3 SB
4. Joey Meneses - First Base - .267/.318/.431, 20 HR, 79 RBI, 1 SB
5. Luis Garcia - Second Base - .278/.323/.429, 12 HR, 53 RBI, 7 SB
6. Stone Garrett - Left Field - .236/.294/.427, 16 HR, 50 RBI, 6 SB
7. Nick Senzel - Third Base - .240/.305/.371, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 8 SB
8. Jake Alu - Designated Hitter - .258/.314/.387, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 4 SB
9. Victor Robles - Center Field - .244/.313/.373, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 18 SB
The Nationals are still very much in the midst of a rebuild. Last season did see the emergence of C.J. Abrams as a building block for the franchise. However, outside of a few names at the top, there isn't much star power in the Nationals everyday lineup.
Last season they ranked 23rd in baseball in team wRC+ (92), and hit the fewest home runs in the National League (151). It's still unclear who will get AB's in Washington's DH role, but no matter who they bring in via free agency, the Nationals are definitely trotting out the worst everyday lineup in the NL East.