Rank the divisions (ESPN):
3 National League East
It was almost impossible to separate the NL East from the AL West. But here's what the data told us:
Projected division record: 399-411, .493 (4th)
Projected record vs. non-division opponents: 209-221, .486 (4th)
Projected 90-win teams: two (Nationals, Braves)
Projected .500 or better teams: three (Nationals, Braves, Phillies)
Vegas rank: 2nd
Payroll rank: 4th
Power ranking: 3rd
Poll ranking: 3rd
Once again, to make a case that the NL East is one of the best divisions in baseball, you have to ignore the projected-record data, because this division is split into two distinct tiers. And at the bottom, Szymborski estimates the Marlins have a 36 percent chance to lose 100 games, while the Mets have a 34 percent shot at it. So they're the gravitational force tugging the rest of the division back to the pack.
But back at the top, the Vegas odds (as supplied by Bovada Sports) peg this as the only division with three of the 11 best bets to win the World Series (Washington at No. 3, Atlanta tied at No. 6, Philadelphia at No. 11). And Szymborski projects there's a decent chance that the Nationals and Braves could each win 100 games, with the Nationals on track to win more games than any team in either league.
"If you're going by depth of the entire division, I guess you'd have to take the AL East No. 1," said one of the NL execs quoted earlier. "But if you go by quality, you should go NL East. Washington and Atlanta are better than any of those [AL East] teams."
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8918419/ranking-mlb-six-divisions-al-east-top