Ranking the 10 best players in the National League East

The National League East might be the best division in baseball. The New York Mets and Braves are in a dogfight to win it and are both 30+ games over .500. The Phillies are almost 20 games over .500 and have been one of the better teams in baseball since firing Joe Girardi.

The Marlins have some of the best young pitching in all of baseball. The Nationals, despite losing Juan Soto, are a combined ten games under .500 against teams outside of the NL East. They are a whopping 11-46 against their division foes.

This division is so loaded with talent I believe all-stars like Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte, Edwin Diaz, and Dansby Swanson don't even crack the top ten.

10) Best players in the NL East: Max Fried

Spencer Strider has been the Braves pitcher getting the most attention. The mustache and the strikeouts are definitely worth talking about, and Strider is a young arm that has taken the league by storm in his rookie season. However, he's not the ace of the Braves staff.

Max Fried has been one of the more underrated pitchers in the league in my opinion. He doesn't have the overpowering stuff that someone like Strider has, but he's as consistent as they come.

So far this season, Fried has gone 13-6 with a 2.50 ERA in 27 starts. He was an all-star and will get Cy Young votes. The southpaw is seventh in the National League in wins, fourth in ERA, and third with a 166 ERA+.

What sticks out about Fried is his remarkable consistency. Even the best starters in the game have off nights. When Fried has his rare off night, he keeps his team in games.

In his 27 starts, he's allowed three earned runs or less in 24 of them. He's allowed four earned runs or less in 26 of them. He's gone at least five innings in all of them.

With the offense the Braves have, getting five plus innings with three runs or fewer means games will be won. Atlanta has won 18 of his 27 starts.

Fried finished fifth in the NL Cy Young balloting in the shortened 2020 season and had a 3.04 ERA in 28 starts last season. He's enjoying a career year and at 28 years old seems to be hitting his prime for the defending champions.