NL East: 4 things to glean from Opening Day

From a National League East perspective, excluding the Braves, here are four things to be gleaned from Opening Day:




The above statement doesn't include any condemnations of Harper's capacity for 40 doubles, 80 RBI, 110 runs, 35 steals or a .370 on-base percentage. It only conveys the difficulty of 30 dingers by season's end.

Harper, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is justifiably one of the most-hyped hitting prospects of this century. In 2012, he notched 22 homers, 59 runs, 18 steals and 98 runs as a teenager — which included scintillating marks of .330 batting, .400 OBP, .643 slugging and 1.043 OPS in his final 31 games.

But from a homer perspective, it's still best to exercise a little patience with Harper. Yes, he belted two bombs off Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco on Monday; but of his 24 career homers (2012-13), only one has come against a consensus top-30 starting pitcher (Kris Medlen).

Of equal relevance, the Nationals' slate over the next six weeks includes the Reds (twice), White Sox, Braves (twice), Mets, Cardinals, Tigers and Dodgers.

That allows for potential matchups with Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey, Chris Sale, Jake Peavy, Tim Hudson, Medlen, Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Jon Niese, Matt Harvey, Adam Wainwright, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Doug Fister, Zack Greinke and, of course, Clayton Kershaw.

One last thing: Harper and Mike Trout may be the emerging faces of baseball, but they're not immune from mini-slumps or extended droughts, either. To wit, for July and August last season, Harper had a cumulative on-base percentage of .299.

Over time, these seemingly innocuous lapses put a dent in one's power production.




One game does not a season make, of course.

But after viewing Davis's opening-day numbers against the Padres (0 for 5, four strikeouts, five left on base), I'm suddenly having bad flashbacks to his April and May misery from last year, posting 49 strikeouts, a .170 batting average and .223 OBP during that two-month span.

How rough was Monday's opener, from an individual standpoint? In the Mets' 11-2 home rout, which included a grand slam from leadoff hitter Colin Cowgill, Davis had four more strikeouts than catcher John Buck (triple-digit Ks for 2010-12) ... and two fewer hits than Jon Niese — New York's starting and winning pitcher for the day.




Sitting at the Turner Field press box, I had great interest in how Ben Revere, Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown would fare against Tim Hudson. Utley was admittedly a back-burner asset, someone whose better days in the majors had seemingly passed.

But that all changed with a fourth-inning homer (No. 200), a two-run double in the fifth and clean triple in the seventh — with Utley running with tangible speed, grace and purpose in each circumstance.

Look, no one expects Utley to replicate his absurd production from 2005-09 (seasonal averages: 29 homers, 101 runs, 15 steals), but he may have already earned the right to be treated like a current star who's making a legitimate comeback.

From a mental standpoint, that's half the battle.

After all, Utley's only 34, and the Phillies have him comfortably slotted in the 3-hole — after Revere and Jimmy Rollins ... and before Howard, Michael Young and Dom Brown.




Against the Nationals, Chris Coghlan (career: 20 homers, .271 average) and Placido Polanco (103 homers since 1998) buttressed Stanton, the No. 3 hitter in the Marlins' lineup. And that ... just makes me sad.

Coghlan and Polanco? If Stanton was some slap hitter in his early 30s, instead of baseball's most prodigious power hitter at age 23, perhaps I'd let this one go.

But would it be a stretch to dip into the minor leagues (amongst the 30 MLB franchises) and identify three, four or maybe five other teams with better protection at the No. 2 and 4 slots of a batting order? I doubt it.

In the previous two seasons, Stanton produced 71 homers and a .900-plus OPS — numbers that were supported by lineup notables like Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Carlos Lee, Logan Morrison and Gaby Sanchez.

But the 2013 Marlins offer no such protection, with one decent power hitter (Justin Ruggiano — out with a mild injury) and one intriguing rookie (catcher Rob Brantly) standing between Stanton getting three or four free passes per game ... for now.

In a few months, superb prospects like Christian Yelich, Jake Marisnick and Marcell Ozuna may bring an element of respectability to the Miami lineup.

In the meantime, Coghlan (0 for 4 against Stephen Strasburg/Nationals bullpen) and Polanco (1 for 4) have been placed in the unenviable position of helping Stanton, the Marlins' greatest asset (and biggest trade chip), maximize his capacity as a hitter.

It's a no-win proposition, especially since many opposing pitchers shouldn't feel obligated to supply Stanton with attractive pitches.
Jay Clemons can be reached, day or night, via Twitter at @FOX_JayClemons.