Ranking the NL East's 2024 projected lineups
The NL East has some scary lineups for opposing pitchers to navigate. Which one is the scariest though? Does the Braves depth get the nod, or does the star power of Bryce Harper and Phillies earn them the top spot?
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.
4. Miami Marlins
1. Luis Arraez- Second Base - .316/.372/.430, 9 HR, 61 RBI, 6 SB
2. Josh Bell - First Base - .258/.345/.439, 23 HR, 78 RBI, 1 SB
3. Jazz Chisholm - Center Field - .245/.309/.456, 28 HR, 83 RBI, 28 SB
4. Jake Burger- Third Base - .249/.309/.456, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 2 SB
5. Bryan De La Cruz- Left Field - .262/.313/.432, 20 HR, 74 RBI, 4 SB
6. Jesus Sanchez- Right Field - .252/.323/.445, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB
7. Avisail Garcia - Designated Hitter - .238/.297/.386, 14 HR, 50 RBI, 5 SB
8. John Berti - Shortstop - .257/.328/.375, 7 HR, 41 RBI, 21 SB
9. Nick Fortes - Catcher - .240/.304/.389, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 5 SB
The Marlins desperately need to add a bat before the season starts in a couple months. Considering one of their best hitters last year in Jorge Soler is still a free agent, help is still out there. Upgrading at DH and shortstop seems like a no brainer for Miami's front office, once they accomplish that they are a much more competitive roster.
Regardless of who they add, the bottom of the order still leaves a lot to be desired between the catching platoon of Fortes and former Brave Christian Bethancourt. However, Arraez was a hitting machine at the top last season, and Bell, Chisholm, and Burger present some thump in the middle if they all can stay healthy. If the Marlins add a couple more bats, and partner that with the solid pitching staff they could find themselves playing October baseball for the second straight season.
3. New York Mets
1. Brandon Nimmo - Left Field - .270/.367/.445, 19 HR, 63 RBI, 6 SB
2. Jeff McNeil - Second Base - .288/.346/.422, 12 HR, 67 RBI, 6 SB
3. Francisco Lindor - Shortstop - .253/.332/.444, 27 HR, 90 RBI, 21 SB
4. Pete Alonso - First Base - .251/.336/.521, 43 HR, 113 RBI, 4 SB
5. Starling Marte - Right Field - .261/.324/.396, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 30 SB
6. D.J. Stewart - Designated Hitter - .226/.324/.425, 13 HR, 36 RBI, 2 SB
7. Francisco Alvarez - Catcher - .232/.319/.463, 27 HR, 71 RBI, 3 SB
8. Brett Bety - Third Base - .249/.332/.428, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 3 SB
9. Harrison Bader - Center Field - .245/.303/.397, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 19 SB
The Mets' expectations are much different entering 2024. After the failed big spending on veteran pitchers last year, New York has been trying to shed payroll since the 2023 trade deadline. Because they were out of the playoff race young players like Francisco Alvarez got a chance to play everyday, and he made a lot of Mets fans proud.
This year, the Mets will see if they can strike gold again with a productive season from someone like Brett Bety at third base. The upside of the bottom half of the lineup partnered with the more than solid top half, makes the Mets' lineup a pretty solid group. Last season they ranked right in the middle of baseball with a wRC+ just above league average (101). Alonso remaining a Met the entire 2024 season will go a long way in determining where they finish this year.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
1. Kyle Schwarber - Designated Hitter - .223/.349/.489, 42 HR, 91 RBI, 6 SB
2. Trea Turner - Shortstop - .278/.331/.455, 22 HR, 83 RBI, 25 SB
3. Bryce Harper - First Base - .283/.389/.519, 30 HR, 97 RBI, 13 SB
4. Nick Castellanos - Right Field - .260/.308/.446, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 7 SB
5. J.T. Realmuto - Catcher - .251/.318/.438, 18 HR, 63 RBI, 13 SB
6. Bryson Stott - Second Base - .267/.327/.414, 15 HR, 67 RBI, 20 SB
7. Alec Bohm - Third Base - .276/.331/.433, 18 HR, 76 RBI, 4 SB
8. Brandon Marsh - Left Field- .246/.329/.396, 12 HR, 55 RBI, 10 SB
9. Johan Rojas - Center Field - .252/.300/.383, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 19 SB
Not much has changed for Philadelphia heading into 2024. Their everyday lineup will pretty much consist of the same group that has led them to back to back NLCS appearances. Philadelphia pretty much has everything you want in a great lineup. There's star power at the top, athleticism in the middle, and depth at the bottom.
If we were making a top lineups in all of baseball list, the Phillies would comfortably be top five. However, that isn't enough to overtake our next team in the NL East rankings. We know Philadelphia has out-hit the Braves in the last two NLDS showdowns, but it's going to take big years from the whole lineup to close that regular season gap and compete for the division title with Atlanta.
1. Atlanta Braves
1. Ronald Acuna Jr. - Right Field - .318/.404/.576, 38 HR, 100 RBI, 56 SB
2. Ozzie Albies - Second Base - .276/.332/.491, 29 HR, 94 RBI, 13 SB
3. Austin Riley - Third Base - .275/.347/.514, 35 HR, 109 RBI, 3 SB
4. Matt Olson - First Base - .268/.371/.542, 40 HR, 112 RBI, 1 SB
5. Marcell Ozuna - Designated Hitter - .255/.323/.481, 31 HR, 92 RBI, 1 SB
6. Michael Harris II - Center Field - .290/.337/.490, 23 HR, 85 RBI, 22 SB
7. Sean Murphy - Catcher - .248/.341/.458, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 1 SB
8. Jared Kelnic - Left Field - .244/.321/.439, 18 HR, 63 RBI, 13 SB
9. Orlando Arcia - Shortstop - .250/.316/.414, 17 HR, 62 RBI, 3 SB
Bias of this website aside, if you were to survey 100 knowledgeable baseball fans, I think it would be nearly unanimously agreed upon that the Atlanta Braves have the best lineup in all of baseball. How could we justify the Braves anywhere else but first? Last season they lead MLB in team wRC+ (125), wOBA (.359), and as we mentioned set records in slugging and home runs.
Atlanta's lowest projected slugging percentage from starters is Orlando Arcia (.414), who is still projected to hit 17 homers at the bottom of the lineup. They have THREE different players projected to slug at least .514, and it all starts with the reigning NL MVP at the top.
The difference this season is the presence of Jared Kelnic in left field rather than Eddie Rosario. These projections are often pessimistic, and the numbers still wow you. Whether or not this explosive offense is enough to lead them to another World Series title remains to be seen. However, one thing we know for sure is as long as these guys stay healthy, the Atlanta Braves will be the most feared lineup in not just the NL East, but all of Major League Baseball.
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