Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

National League Predictions

Somebody Please Turn the Salary Cap Back On…
National League Predictions

Previously being the inferior league in Major League Baseball, the NL is looking incredibly competitive this season. With players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinibu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow joining the NL for over A BILLION dollars combined, the NL seems to be a strong suitor to produce the World Series winner. (All three players signed with LA…) Will Yoshinobu Yamamoto live up to the hype? Will Ohtani repeat as an MVP but this time in the other league? Will the Red Sox trade our best player to the Dodgers for a fifth time and be the reason I never write another article? (The answer is likely going to be yes) You’ll find out all of this in my NL predictions. (All Projected Lineups and Rotations come from rotochamp.com )

NL East

1. Atlanta Braves 107-55

Unlike the Dodgers, this team is homegrown for the most part. I’d argue this team is the best all-around team in the MLB but the Dodgers payroll gives them the edge. Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr leads off a spectacular lineup 1-9 matched with an elite bullpen and rotation. Expect this team to make a run.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Ronald Acuna OF 583 28 77 0.268
2 Ozzie Albies  2B 586 24 93 0.256
3 Austin Riley  3B 597 35 96 0.283
4 Matt Olson  1B 573 34 103 0.244
5 Marcell Ozuna  DH 519 26 73 0.239
6 Michael Harris  OF 571 26 88 0.296
7 Sean Murphy  C 385 14 51 0.236
8 Jarred Kelenic  OF 415 18 49 0.166
9 Orlando Arcia SS 490 19 70 0.243
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Spencer Strider  182 15 5 1.93
2 Max Fried  170 13 6 2.91
3 Charlie Morton  157 11 7 3.61
4 Chris Sale  137 10 5 3.22
5 Reynaldo Lopez  83 6 3 3.04

2. Philidelphia Phillies 90-72

Same team as last year with a few good additions like Witt Merrifield. Expect similar results as last year. The bullpen had a few losses but seems to still be very good.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Kyle Schwarber  DH 547 43 90 0.230
2 Trea Turner  SS 615 23 91 0.309
3 Bryce Harper  1B 530 31 92 0.292
4 J.T. Realmuto  C 466 20 76 0.273
5 Bryson Stott  2B 531 12 61 0.234
6 Alec Bohm  3B 551 12 69 0.278
7 Nick Castellanos  OF 589 24 87 0.275
8 Brandon Marsh OF 456 10 51 0.248
9 Johan Rojas  OF 317 7 36 0.256
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Zack Wheeler  193 15 7 2.75
2 Aaron Nola  192 15 7 2.81
3 Ranger Suarez  152 10 7 3.67
4 Taijuan Walker  167 10 9 3.93
5 Cristopher Sanchez  137 8 7 4.27
6 Michael Lorenzen  109 6 6 4.13

3. Miami Marlins 88-74

This team could be a sleeper with their great lineup and rotation. No Sandy Alcantara will hurt them, but watch out for Miami. Tim Anderson should have a bounce-back season after his downright HORRENDOUS year and boxing match in 2023 to pair with his fellow middle infielder and best contact hitter in the league Luis Arraez.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Luis Arraez  2B 559 6 52 0.309
2 Josh Bell  1B 527 20 76 0.258
3 Jake Burger  3B 542 25 78 0.255
4 Jazz Chisholm OF 515 26 78 0.247
5 Tim Anderson  SS 509 14 49 0.306
6 Jesus Sanchez  OF 412 19 53 0.221
7 Avisail Garcia  DH 316 11 42 0.237
8 Bryan De La Cruz  OF 538 19 65 0.266
9 Christian Bethancourt  C 295 10 32 0.251
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Jesus Luzardo  173 11 9 3.80
2 A.J. Puk  97 7 4 3.34
3 Trevor Rogers  111 7 6 3.73
4 Ryan Weathers  69 2 6 5.22
5 Yonny Chirinos  34 2 2 3.18

4. New York Mets 80-82

This team continues to take a step back every year and I feel as they’ll be mid again. Severino was awful last year and when he’s your second projected starter that’s a problem. The lineup looks pretty good but injuries and uncertainty in the 7-9 could hurt this team.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Brandon Nimmo  OF 542 15 56 0.279
2 Francisco Lindor  SS 584 24 91 0.257
3 Pete Alonso  1B 575 39 113 0.264
4 Francisco Alvarez  C 426 35 35 0.164
5 Jeff McNeil   2B 537 9 59 0.302
6 Starling Marte  OF 478 15 61 0.297
7 Brett Baty  3B 393 21 52 0.186
8 Ji-Man Choi DH 132 4 20 0.227
9 Harrison Bader  OF 389 11 45 0.254
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Jose Quintana  159 11 7 3.28
2 Luis Severino  132 9 6 3.55
3 Sean Manaea  141 8 8 4.15
4 Adrian Houser  127 7 7 4.25
5 Tylor Megill  100 6 5 4.14

5. Washington Nationals 57-105

Garbage.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 CJ Abrams  SS 559 4 41 0.247
2 Lane Thomas  OF 561 19 60 0.237
3 Jesse Winker  IL-10 OF 209 9 29 0.249
4 Joey Meneses  DH 499 29 76 0.323
5 Joey Gallo  1B 350 22 50 0.177
6 Keibert Ruiz  C 476 10 48 0.254
7 Nick Senzel  3B 356 5 25 0.233
8 Luis Garcia 2B 444 9 51 0.266
9 Victor Robles  OF 363 5 29 0.220
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Josiah Gray  169 5 14 5.75
2 Patrick Corbin  163 5 13 4.91
3 MacKenzie Gore  146 9 7 3.95
4 Jake Irvin  123 5 9 4.68
5 Trevor Williams  103 6 5 4.11
6 Jackson Rutledge  79 6 3 3.19

NL Central

1. Cincinnati Reds 94-68

This is my sleeper team this year. I think Cinci will take the division this year. Elly De La Cruz’s breakout is on the way and the rotation has good upside. Watch out NL Central. Montas and Greene need more attention as a 1-2 punch, I think they’re a dangerous duo.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Matt McLain   2B 517 23 73 0.257
2 Elly De La Cruz  SS 507 22 71 0.245
3 Spencer Steer  OF 507 11 43 0.211
4 Jake Fraley  OF 366 18 51 0.238
5 Jeimer Candelario  3B 497 15 61 0.247
6 Jonathan India  DH 448 14 53 0.257
7 Christian Encarnacion-Strand  1B 449 26 74 0.269
8 Will Benson  OF 375 0 20 0.181
9 Tyler Stephenson  C 360 12 60 0.297
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Frankie Montas  139 9 6 3.69
2 Hunter Greene  154 9 9 4.21
3 Graham Ashcraft  153 8 9 4.06
4 Nick Martinez   125 6 8 4.32
5 Andrew Abbott  120 6 7 4.35
6 Nick Lodolo   115 8 5 3.44
7 Brandon Williamson   75 3 5 4.80

2. Chicago Cubs 83-79

I think they have a tragic ending like last season. Good additions but not good enough. They have the same lineup as last season for the most part but the rotation and bullpen seems much improved.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Ian Happ   OF 559 21 74 0.254
2 Seiya Suzuki  OF 519 18 60 0.262
3 Cody Bellinger  1B 556 21 72 0.201
4 Christopher Morel  3B 487 21 60 0.234
5 Dansby Swanson  SS 586 24 88 0.265
6 Michael Busch  DH 341 0 0 0.000
7 Nico Hoerner  2B 583 10 66 0.281
8 Mike Tauchman  OF 254 4 27 0.197
9 Yan Gomes  C 350 12 45 0.246
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Justin Steele  176 12 8 3.63
2 Shota Imanaga 158 11 7 3.70
3 Kyle Hendricks  149 6 11 4.59
4 Jordan Wicks  113 6 7 4.38
5 Hayden Wesneski  69 5 3 3.00

3. St Louis Cardinals 80-82

Goldschmidt and Arenado are still great but they’re aging and this team is past its prime. Pitching was their biggest issue last year and they made some moves to bolster their arm barn so this could be a bad take, but I just do not like this team this year.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Brendan Donovan  DH 420 5 48 0.281
2 Paul Goldschmidt  1B 568 32 103 0.308
3 Nolan Gorman  2B 456 23 56 0.228
4 Nolan Arenado  3B 586 32 105 0.276
5 Willson Contreras  C 420 21 57 0.240
6 Alec Burleson  OF 162 3 10 0.185
7 Jordan Walker  OF 494 19 71 0.267
8 Dylan Carlson  OF 303 7 33 0.244
9 Masyn Winn  SS 468 12 55 0.248
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Miles Mikolas  178 11 9 3.89
2 Kyle Gibson  174 10 10 4.09
3 Lance Lynn  168 11 8 3.59
4 Steven Matz  117 7 6 4.00
5 Zack Thompson  66 4 4 4.09

4. Milwaukee Brewers 75-87

This team continues to decline. They won’t be good this year. The lineup took another step back this year as its very young and needs time to marinate. The rotation no longer has Burnes or Woodruff leaving it very weak. The bullpen is missing star closerDevin Williams for a while which will hurt them immensely. It is going to be a painful year for the Brew Crew and their eight fans.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Garrett Mitchell  OF 338 11 50 0.314
2 William Contreras  C 518 30 70 0.266
3 Christian Yelich  OF 546 15 59 0.245
4 Rhys Hoskins  1B 515 29 78 0.247
5 Willy Adames  SS 562 30 90 0.249
6 Sal Frelick  3B 493 11 61 0.264
7 Gary Sanchez  DH 272 13 39 0.199
8 Jackson Chourio  OF 468 16 62 0.252
9 Brice Turang  2B 427 10 49 0.246
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Freddy Peralta  163 12 6 3.04
2 Colin Rea  126 6 8 4.50
3 Jake Junis  117 7 6 3.85
4 Joe Ross 83 5 4 4.01
5 DL Hall  105 9 3 2.06

5. Pittsburgh Pirates 67-95

Garbage.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Oneil Cruz  SS 493 26 82 0.235
2 Bryan Reynolds  OF 567 27 74 0.273
3 Ke’Bryan Hayes  3B 544 9 49 0.254
4 Andrew McCutchen  DH 406 17 60 0.234
5 Jack Suwinski  OF 431 25 50 0.204
6 Henry Davis  C 397 15 54 0.244
7 Rowdy Tellez  1B 342 21 54 0.231
8 Michael Taylor  OF 311 8 34 0.244
9 Liover Peguero  2B 370 0 0 0.332
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Mitch Keller  186 12 9 3.92
2 Martin Perez  144 10 6 3.62
3 Marco Gonzales  0 0 0 0.00
4 Luis Ortiz 95 4 7 4.64
5 Jared Jones 95 0 0 3.22

NL West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers 111-51

The Dodgers just casually signed the best player in baseball this offseason. While Ohtani can not pitch this season, I’d like to think he’ll repeat his MVP season hitting-wise. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the highest-paid overseas free agent ever. And those two players are getting a billion combined. They’ll still probably lose to the 6th seed team playing with the power of friendship and togetherness in the playoffs.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Mookie Betts  SS 574 34 81 0.270
2 Shohei Ohtani DH 535 35 91 0.260
3 Freddie Freeman  1B 586 24 95 0.316
4 Will Smith C 444 23 79 0.259
5 Max Muncy 3B 453 25 73 0.214
6 Teoscar Hernandez  OF 539 30 96 0.280
7 James Outman  OF 449 35 104 0.463
8 Jason Heyward  OF 340 7 32 0.218
9 Gavin Lux  2B 404 7 46 0.260
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Tyler Glasnow  147 11 6 3.12
2 Yoshinobu Yamamoto 177 12 8 3.56
3 Bobby Miller  152 8 9 4.03
4 Gavin Stone  48 3 -3 4.12
5 Clayton Kershaw   IL-60 65 5 2 2.77

2. Arizona Diamondbacks 93-69

Same team as last year. Could be a sleeper.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Corbin Carroll  OF 575 22 77 0.259
2 Ketel Marte  2B 559 15 65 0.265
3 Gabriel Moreno  C 443 6 45 0.316
4 Christian Walker  1B 571 29 84 0.249
5 Joc Pederson  DH 390 21 64 0.254
6 Lourdes Gurriel Jr.  OF 510 13 71 0.284
7 Eugenio Suarez  3B 536 32 87 0.220
8 Alek Thomas  OF 467 10 48 0.231
9 Geraldo Perdomo  SS 387 4 35 0.196
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Zac Gallen  193 14 8 3.31
2 Merrill Kelly  182 11 9 3.81
3 Eduardo Rodriguez  168 9 10 4.02
4 Brandon Pfaadt  141 9 7 3.77
5 Ryne Nelson  114 7 6 3.71

3. San Diego Padres 92-70

Tuffy.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Xander Bogaerts  2B 566 19 78 0.299
2 Fernando Tatis Jr.  OF 580 49 117 0.279
3 Jake Cronenworth  1B 530 16 73 0.251
4 Manny Machado  DH 566 31 104 0.290
5 Ha-seong Kim  SS 531 12 62 0.237
7 Luis Campusano  C 425 9 36 0.202
8 Jurickson Profar  OF 391 9 40 0.240
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Yu Darvish  159 11 7 3.34
2 Joe Musgrove  165 11 7 3.49
3 Dylan Cease  176 12 8 3.38
4 Michael King  144 11 5 3.00
5 Jhony Brito  112 6 7 4.18

4. San Francisco Giants 81-81

The Giants made some impactful moves this offseason adding players like Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, and reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Still, this division is overpowered leaving a .500 team like the San Fran Giants in 4th place of a stacked NL West. They’ll be average but this team is young and has a good future. Trust in the process San Fran fans!

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Jung Hoo Lee OF 516 11 54 0.291
2 Thairo Estrada  2B 535 17 71 0.258
3 LaMonte Wade 1B 402 17 56 0.229
4 Jorge Soler  DH 506 26 68 0.219
5 Michael Conforto  OF 447 17 63 0.255
6 Matt Chapman  3B 509 26 72 0.222
7 Mike Yastrzemski  OF 436 18 59 0.225
8 Patrick Bailey  C 372 9 43 0.228
9 Nick Ahmed  SS 225 5 24 0.236
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Logan Webb  198 15 7 3.05
2 Blake Snell  162 11 7 3.22
3 Kyle Harrison  135 8 7 4.00
4 Jordan Hicks  112 7 6 3.86
5 Keaton Winn  117 7 6 3.92

5. Colorado Rockies 70-92

Garbage.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Charlie Blackmon  DH 451 13 69 0.271
2 Kris Bryant  1B 453 19 55 0.269
3 Nolan Jones  OF 510 12 77 0.245
4 Brendan Rodgers  2B 497 14 61 0.270
5 Ryan McMahon  3B 521 21 74 0.246
6 Elias Diaz  C 370 13 51 0.235
7 Sean Bouchard  OF 321 13 48 0.296
8 Ezequiel Tovar  SS 577 17 35 0.210
9 Brenton Doyle  OF 462 15 55 0.229
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Kyle Freeland  161 9 9 4.25
2 Cal Quantrill  155 9 9 4.01
3 Austin Gomber  145 6 10 4.59
4 Ryan Feltner  111 5 8 4.78
5 Dakota Hudson  126 7 7 4.21
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