NL East Versus AL East…
…who is the more dominate?
Baseball season is right around the corner and there was a unique question asked to me about the divisions: which division is better, the AL East or NL East? This article will show why I feel the NL East is stronger than the AL.
For starters, let’s look at the AL East. The teams, for those not well-versed, are the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. Last year, the Orioles took the league by storm with their rookie talents of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Grayson Rodriguez. They have the pieces to go far, but their youth needs more time before they can go forward and reclaim a spot at the top of the AL East’s table. New York’s got talent with Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, and young superstar prospect Jasson Dominguez, and recently acquired Juan Soto. New York is in a precarious spot, where they are fringe playoff contenders and can’t stop getting in their way and stay consistent with their front office. Many are questioning if their farm can save them or if Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are holding the team back from greatness. Tampa Bay has had numerous star talents enter their system from the farm and trades, from Tyler Glasnow to Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco (who is no longer on the team). Tampa keeps selling their top prospects and not spending big money to get what they want to go forward. Boston is actively trying to rebuild but hold keys to good times in the future; Masatake Yoshida is a great piece to assist Devers but their pitching needs overhaul to help them get over the hump. Toronto can’t get a consistent season with their young talent and cannot shake first round playoff exits despite proclamations from Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
Why is this division not scary? Besides Baltimore, there’s no real challenge coming through. New York is in a state of chaos trying to figure out what to do with Aaron, Gerrit, and Juan. Boston is trying to rebuild itself around Devers and Yoshida. Toronto needs to push with their talent and get a strong manager; and Tampa needs to spend money so they can get a seat at the Adult Table.
Why is the NL East better than the AL East? Let’s look at the teams. Atlanta: Nothing else; the hitting corps (Acuña, Olson, and Albies) and starting rotation (Strider, Fried, and newly acquired Chris Sale) is to be feared, and the only weakness that they may have is their mid bullpen. The Marlins are in the process of trying to figure out what they want to do— either blow it up again or focus on pitching (Sandy is not coming to play since he had TJ surgery) since their hitting is sort of non-existent (it’s just Luis Arraez). The Mets are just…Metting, not really knowing what to do, yet they have pieces they can use in their farm and on the roster to go far (Sengai, Alonso, and Lindor on the main roster, with great pieces like Ronny Mauricio in the farm and ready to come up). The Phillies are so rough and just unpredictable, yet they give the Braves a run for their money with players like Schwarber, Harper, and Trea Turner, although they need one more good starter in free agency and a middle bullpen arm to really make themselves ready to go. The Nationals are slowly starting to rebuild after trading Juan Soto in 2022, and the prospects they have in return are starting to show good fruit.
Why the NL East instead of the AL? The atmosphere there is always great, especially with the fields of the Braves and Phillies; there really isn’t an atmosphere like that in the AL East. Also, the NL East teams are always biting at each other’s throats, ready to spill blood and try to get up on their opponents. The AL is a good spot for rivalries, but the history just isn’t there for them, whereas the NL has many rivalries lasting for literal decades to help set them up above the rest. The NL East can certainly go toe to toe with the AL East, and then can go the extra mile to be far and away better than their Junior League counterparts.
By David Hummel