2023 National League East Division Preview

Defending Champion Atlanta Braves +105 Favorite to Repeat

We kick the 2023 Major League Baseball season off in a few short days, meaning there isn’t much time to get your future bets in. In case you’re still confused about who you should drop some money on to win the National League East, let’s go through each team’s MLB matchups and odds to see if we can come up with a winner come October. Remember, when making your future selections, the schedule isn’t as division-heavy as it was last year which could help teams like the Florida Marlins get over their projected season win total. Good luck with your MLB betting picks season. Now on to our National League East division preview.

Odds To Win the National League East

Braves logoAtlanta Braves (101-61) +105

The Braves won the division via a tiebreaker with the New York Mets who led the Braves by nine games on May 23rd. Lost in the Division series (4-0) to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Mets logoNew York Mets (101-61) +165

Lost 2 games to one against the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card series.

Phillies logoPhiladelphia Phillies (87-75) +300

Phillies finished third in the East but went all the way to the World Series as a wild card team, losing to the Houston Astros in six games.

Marlins logoMiami Marlins (69-93) +4000

The Marlins finished 32 games out of first place with the league’s 23rd-worst run differential

Nationals logoWashington Nationals (55-107) +15000

The Nationals posted a 29-52 road record and were thought of as the worst team in baseball

Three-Headed NL East Starts With The Defending Champs

We know that the New York Mets and their owner Steve Cohen is attempting to buy a World Series with his $370 million dollar payroll, but with a massive payroll last season, the Mets still fell short of the Atlanta Braves after getting swept by the Bravos in the next to last series of the season. There will be some changes to the Braves after Dansby Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs.

That likely leaves Orlando Arcia as their starting shortstop. The Braves are projected for 95 ½ wins (u -125) and are -500 to make the playoffs. Many projections have the Braves around 98 wins, we think that’s a little high. The Braves produced just $58 of profit for $100 bettors last season.

Over the last three years, the Braves have been the epitome of a stay-away team because their 223-159 records suggest they would be a solid daily wager, but in that span, they’ve lost bettors a grand total of $7 based on that same $100 wager.

Mets Buy More Pieces to Add

New York didn’t sit on their hands in the offseason, spending almost half a billion dollars on free agents. $43.3 million of that belongs to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, exceeding Francisco Lindor’s $34.1 million that the 29-year-old veteran signed for last season.

While there is a bunch of money being thrown around Flushing Meadows, the Mets still need to prove they’re better than their projected 93 ½ wins to grab the division title from the Braves or Phillies.

Defending National League Champions have Unfinished Business

The Philadelphia Phillies were two games away from winning the World Series, but if I’m Manager Rob Thompson, I’m focused on winning a division title after listening all off-season to how the Braves and Mets will be fighting it out all season long.

The Spring got off to a shaky start for the Phils after it was announced that starting second basemen Rhys Hoskins will likely be out the entire season after suffering an ACL injury in Spring Training.

That is in addition to injuries to superstar Bryce Harper, Ranger Suárez, and Andrew Painter. As of right now, the Phillies projected win total wager is off the board until the books can get a handle on the health of the club.

Could The Marlins Be a Sneaky Contender?

The Marlins are -500 to not make the playoffs but their projected season win total of 76 ½ are seven games better than last season. Most expect Skip Schumaker’s team to finish below 74 wins but we think they’re going to be better than most think.

The club added AL batting champion Luis Arraez and two-time All-Star Jean Segura. Their staff led by Sandy Alcantara, who would be the staff ace on almost any team, is backed by Johnny Cueto, Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, and Trevor Rogers. It’s not out of the question to think that Florida will not be their typical NL East pushover this season.

Nowhere to Go But Up for Nationals

The Washington Nationals are expected to improve this season after a year that saw the once-proud franchise grab just 55 wins. Most expect the nats to be in the high 50-win range this season, making it another long season in the district.

Gone are superstars Trea Turner and Juan Soto forcing Washington into a rebuild that takes forever because the economics of baseball force teams to give up on payroll before they even start. CJ Abrams is a nice piece to start with but the Nationals are starting to realize that they are going to be a team that will compete every ten years and then get buried again by a landslide of cash coming from their division foes.

We expect the Nationals to finish right on their season win total of 59 ½ wins, creating the only drama that is sports related in DC this Summer.


That does it for our National League East division preview. When it’s all said and done in October, expect the Atlanta Braves to win their sixth straight division crown.

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