With most teams about to reach 45 games of play this upcoming week, we've seen a good amount of Major League Baseball to date. Here's a look at the state of affairs in the National League East and some players to watch heading to the All-Star break.
Washington Nationals
The Nats currently sit atop the division with a small cushion. They've been playing strong at home but float just above .500 on the road. A recent push of 7-3 behind the bats of Harper and Escobar has the team cooking as they look to stretch out the division lead in the coming weeks.
Players to Watch
Bryce Harper: The kid leads Nats' starters with a .336 average at the plate, 16 homers, 39 RBIs and a .475 On-Base Percentage. If he can manage to stay healthy (which is never a guarantee), look for even more productivity in the next few weeks, especially at home.
Drew Storen: Pitching attention usually falls on Scherzer, but Storen is a nice surprise. 13 saves in 19 appearances with a 0.98 ERA and no losses to boot make this guy a threat late in games.
New York Mets
The Mets currently sit just a game and a half out. The story of 2015 has been their fantastic rotation, especially with the return of Matt Harvey. But New York struggles to generate offense to support solid efforts on the mound, which seems to be the story every year. The bad news is David Wright's back issues have recurred and he's now indefinitely on the D.L., so Duda will have to carry the bats for longer to keep N.Y. in contention.
Players to Watch
Noah Syndergaard: The youngster recently called up has gone 1-2 in three starts with 16 strikeouts and seven earned runs. Keep an eye on his performance to see if he has the stuff to go deep into games and hold down the runs for a struggling offense.
Juan Lagares: Lagares has proved his worth in centerfield and his production on offense is slowly improving. He's hitting .271 with 13 RBIs and leads the Mets with three stolen bases. If he can slow the strikeouts, Lagares could be a big factor in coming games.
Atlanta Braves
Though they're very much a factor, the team is just under .500 and just kind of floating along. Outside of Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman, who top the averages for the starting lineup, the Braves' bats haven't been living up to expectations.
Players to Watch
Andrelton Simmons: The shortstop doesn't have the best average, but that's due to a skid since a series with a Reds. Look for Simmons to turn his hitting struggles around and return to where he was as a strong contact hitter who hits a fair amount of doubles.
Shelby Miller: Miller is the best starter on the Braves. He has 43 strikeouts in 54 innings on the mound and a strong 1.47 ERA to supplement a 5-1 record. Earlier this month, he lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth against Miami.
Philadelphia Phillies
As if by magic, the Phillies are not in last and actually have a winning record at home (12-10). A current 7-3 stretch in their last 10 gives Philly a glimmer of hope, though outside of a slight turnaround from Ryan Howard and hope that Grady Sizemore can return with more production this team doesn't have much to look forward to. A recent highlight was their win against the Nats with a stellar performance from Cole Hamels (5-3, 67 strikeouts) and the bats putting the hurt on Strasburg.
Player to Watch
Freddy Galvis: The 25-year-old shortstop is hitting .311, which leads his team, with 11 RBIs, 46 hits and five stolen bases. He's a multifaceted young talent for this team and shows great promise for the future.
Miami Marlins
Somehow a game and a half back of the Phillies, the Marlins are an abysmal 17-27. Stanton and Dee Gordon are not nearly enough to generate run support for a pitching staff that is all Dan Haren at this point. The team lost starters Mat Latos and Henderson Alvarez to the D.L., and with Jarred Cosart already there, the team lacks depth on the mound. They rank 11th in the N.L. in runs scored per game, so that number must be improved with their pitching woes where they are in order to recover.
Player to Watch
Marcell Ozuna: Here's guy who was poised for a big season but hasn't panned out just yet. New manager Dan Jennings moved him to the two spot in the lineup, so hopefully with more at-bats one of Miami's best players can up his .269 average, three homers, and 13 RBIs in coming weeks and especially at home (where he bats .289).
