Welcome to the final part of our NL East season preview. You can read all about the Mets here, Braves here, Phillies here, and Marlins here. This article serves as a quick read and a preseason power ranking of sorts. If you are looking for deeper dives into the rosters you can find them linked above.

The National League East is a stacked division this season, with each team improving over the offseason, the race for the division crown should be even more exciting. Every game matters for these teams, and it all starts today on Opening Day. Let's get into the rankings.

1. New York Mets

For most franchises, an offseason in which you lose Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker is a fatal blow. Instead, the New York Mets went out and added reigning American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, Japanese superstar Kodai Senga, and lefty Jose Quintana. Their lineup is nine-deep and they have multiple top prospects in the wings waiting for a chance at playing time. The bullpen has plenty of reliable arms despite the loss of Edwin Díaz. This is simply the most complete roster in the league come Opening Day. The team won 101 games last season, and chances are they win more this time around.

2. Atlanta Braves

Your opinion on the Atlanta Braves almost entirely depends on if you believe in bounce-back seasons from Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario. Their pitching staff as a whole is elite, hosting breakout players Spencer Strider and Kyle Wright. Add in Max Fried and veteran Charlie Morton and you have one of the best rotations in the league. The team has added to a bullpen that lost a bunch of arms but maintains its identity as a top-five unit in the league. This is all without mentioning they added one of the best catchers in baseball, Sean Murphy, who will now play in a much more favorable park. Add him to a lineup that already has Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, and Austin Riley, and you can see why they are considered a contender.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

When healthy, the Philadelphia Phillies could go toe-to-toe with the aforementioned teams in this division. The issue is they are not healthy. Their lineup has tremendous upside even with superstar Bryce Harper beginning the season on the injured list. Former top prospects Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh are slated to start at the bottom of the lineup, adding even more upside to the stacked lineup. The rotation has a true big three. The bullpen lacks an elite closer but has four guys who the Phillies can mix and match on any given day. When Harper returns, the team will hit another gear, but until then they will be good but not great.

4. Miami Marlins

This Miami Marlins team desperately needed a big bat to build the lineup around and they believe Jean Segura and Luis Arraez are those guys. I would disagree, but if Jorge Soler or Avisaíl García rebound into form this year the team could be good. Fans are also hoping that Bryan de la Cruz can continue his strong second half. The team also added veteran starter Johnny Cueto to join a rotation that was otherwise all younger than 28. The bullpen was a major hole last season with a bullpen ERA that ranked 22^nd in the league. To solve that they added multiple solid options to create a high-floor, but a low-ceiling type of unit. If everything goes right, this team will be playing in October.

5. Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals’ rotation has improved this offseason, going from historically bad to just bad. The loss of Cade Cavalli is brutal and is practically the worst-case scenario. The lineup is solid and having a complete season for CJ Abrams and Joey Meneses will show the Nationals just how far off the team is from contention. Dominic Smith could be a potential extension candidate considering his age if he has a breakout season. If the Nationals can get healthy seasons from MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray, then it is a success. This a not a team that will lose more than 100 games, but they aren’t going to win 72 either.