2023 MLB season preview: NL East features 3 title contenders

Washington Nationals

Rebuilds are long and painful. But the Nationals are inching closer to seeing the sunrise. Fans should get to see a decent amount of the youngsters this season including MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz. While the wins may not add up just yet, at least that should be entertaining. The obvious name missing is Cade Cavalli who will miss the 2023 season due to injury.

Why they will thrive

A perfect season will not come in the form of wins and losses. It will come in the form of their young players playing well. Whether that is Josiah Gray figuring things out, a big year for Ruiz after signing an 8-year extension, or Abrams being amongst the leaders in stolen bases. As long as some of these guys flash, it will be much easier to sell the fans on the team going forward.

Biggest question mark

Can Joey Meneses continue to be one of baseball’s best stories in 2023? After years in the minor leagues, he came up last year as a 30-year-old rookie and raked. Meneses hit .324 with 13 home runs in 56 games. 

Days are not long enough to break down the actual question marks with Washington’s roster.

X-factor

At 25 years old, what is Victor Robles? Once viewed as an elite prospect with five-tool potential, Robles has simply not lived up to the hype to this point. He has a career batting average of .233 and is only under team control for two more seasons. He is however having a great spring training with a .969 OPS. Can that carry over into the regular season? If so, that might change the perception of the Nationals’ current roster. 

Prediction: 60-102, fifth place