2014 NL Pennant Race
The National League lost the World Series last year with Boston defeating St. Louis. The AL got most the attention in the offseason with the Yankees paying big sums to reload and big trades like the one that moved Prince Fielder down to Texas.
Despite all that I am not totally sure that the two best overall teams are not in the National League, which had the best division race last season in the Central between the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds. The Dodgers are the odds on favourite to win the World Series but to get there they first have to win the National League.
The Favourite
Los Angeles Dodgers
The overwhelming favourite in the National League this season are the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last year they scuffled along until a rookie named Yasiel Puig lit a fire under this team but this year they are very much expected to lead wire to wire and with good reason.
View The TOP Cappers Leaderboard For 2013 – Buy a 2014 package today! —–>
Playoff performance aside they were the best team in the NL for a lot of last season.
The Dodgers have the best 1-2 starting pitching duo in the Majors and probably the best rotation overall. Sure you could probably argue that Clayton Kershaw plus the batboy would probably rank in the top 5 but pair him with Zach Greinke and you have a lethal duo.
Hyung-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett and Dan Haren form the back end and they should each provide lots of quality innings. They all have solid track records.
L.A. also has a fantastic lineup with room to improve from last year thanks to full seasons from Puig and Hanley Ramirez, a return to form from OF Matt Kemp (and hopefully Carl Crawford too) with Mr. Reliable, Adrian Gonzalez in the middle.
This team should have plenty of offense to make a championship run and the bullpen featuring Kenley Jansen has great experience with about 4 closers available by phone if need be. .
The Contender
St. Louis Cardinals
There is no reason to think that the St. Louis Cardinals cannot make it all the way back to the World Series again in 2014…and win it this time.
The pitching is there, with a deep rotation led by Adam Wainwright and bright young stars like Michael Wacha and Shelby Miller. They don’t have the same experience level in the rotation as the Dodgers but the raw talent is there for sure.
[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
The same goes for their everyday lineup. There are lot of very good players there but the ceilings are not quite as high or the track records as long as L.A.. The big add was SS Jhonny Peralta which moved a couple of faces around the diamond. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the National League and if they can maintain their success levels. .
Long Shot
A long shot I like are the Philadelphia Phillies.
With the recent addition of A.J. Burnett they have a great top three in their rotation – Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Also, they have a lot of guys who have had big time success in the past with the likes of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.
If they can each put together just one more solid season together it could all come together. Further, the Braves and the Nationals are the favourites in the NL East but I don’t like Atlanta’s starters as a group and Washington’s lineup is not all that fearsome, especially given how injury prone Bryce Harper is.
Complete Odds to Win National League
- Los Angeles Dodgers 11/4
- Washington Nationals 5/1
- St. Louis Cardinals 5/1
- Atlanta Braves 10/1
- San Francisco Giants 10/1
- Cincinnati Red 12/1
- Pittsburgh Pirates 12/1
- Arizona Diamondbacks 20/1
- Philadelphia Phillies 20/1
- San Diego Padres 22/1
- New York Mets 30/1
- Milwaukee Brewers 35/1
- Chicago Cubs 50/1
- Colorado Rockies 50/1
- Miami Marlins 50/1
