One key number for each NL East team

One key number for each NL East team

May 23rd, 2019

The National League East has not been as competitive as most of us likely expected and hoped before the season started, with only two teams above .500. But it’s certainly been entertaining, with streaks, feuds and plenty of weird games. And with less than a third of the season in the books, there’s still plenty of time for the race to tighten up.

Here’s a look at one statistic that helps explain each team’s season to date.

Braves: 12

Atlanta has hit 12 triples on the young season, second only to Colorado in the NL -- or, put another way, first among teams that don’t play in the most triple-friendly park in the league. If you’re looking for a defining number for the Braves’ offense, that’s it. They’re young, they’re fun, they’re athletic as heck.

Seventy-three players have hit at least one triple in the NL this season. Eight of them are Braves. They have three of the 23 NL players with at least two triples – and remarkably, isn’t one of them yet. “Hit the ball hard and run fast” is a pretty good descriptor of what this lineup can do.

Marlins: 68

That’s the NL rank of in weighted runs created plus (wRC+), an advanced metric that measures a player’s overall contribution at the plate. This is not to pick on Anderson -- he's actually the highest ranking Marlins hitter among 84 players with enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title. If you set the minimum at 100 plate appearances, you get Neil Walker at 37th as the top Miami hitter.

The Marlins’ pitching has been all right this season. has been a lot more than all right -- arguably even a fringe NL Cy Young Award candidate. But they don’t have a single impact hitter in their lineup, and that’s how you end up last in the Majors in runs scored.

Mets: 22

It’s been a wild season for the Mets already, with things to like (, ) and things to worry about (, ). But the one thing that seemed like a given was that the front of the rotation would pitch well. And in fairness, they’re coming around. But still, , and have already combined to give up 22 home runs in 184 2/3 innings. Last season, they allowed 33 in more than three times as many innings.

They’re all missing bats at a similar rate to last year. deGrom and Wheeler are walking a few more hitters, but not a ton more. The difference is the long ball, and frankly it seems likely they’ll sort it out. These are pitchers who overpower hitters. Chances are, they’ll get back to being stingy before long.

Nationals: 6.89

Sometimes the top-line numbers are the most telling. This is one of those cases. The Nats sport a collective 6.89 bullpen ERA, easily the worst in the Majors. It’s well-earned, too: fielding independent numbers tell the same story, with Washington ranking last in the NL in FIP and xFIP (two measures of defense-independent pitching).

has mostly been outstanding as usual -- though he faltered badly in Wednesday night's 6-1 loss -- but just about everything in front of him has been fraught. 's collapse has been difficult to watch. and have become homer-happy. And the unit overall entered Wednesday with a strikeout rate of 21.9 percent, second-lowest of any bullpen in the NL.

Washington has dealt with a slew of injuries, and its defense has been shaky. But any turnaround will start with righting the ship in the relief corps.

Phillies: 3rd

There have certainly been some dicey moments for the Phillies' bullpen this season. They’ve had to make do without and , both of whom projected to be key parts of the relief corps. And yet the Phils entered Thursday ranked third in the NL in bullpen ERA, with and leading the way.

Their 3.82 relief ERA is not an entirely definitive number -- the peripheral numbers are a bit less kind -- but for the most part, they’ve gotten the job done. And in a division in which every other contender has dealt with big bullpen concerns rather than just occasional hiccups, getting the job done has been more than enough.