Fresh off a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the lowly Baltimore Orioles, you’d think national pundits might be a bit down on the Phillies for a moment. You’d be wrong, because Jon Morosi of the MLB Network and FOX Sports just went all-in on the Phillies to win the NL East:

The Philadlephia Phillies will win the National League East in Joe Girardi’s first season as the manager in Philadelphia. I look for a HUGE season from Bryce Harper, bit of a new batting stance and approach for Bryce in year two with the Phillies. I look for him to be the MVP of the National League in 2020. I love the lineup depth overall with Philadelphia, you think about where Gregorius and Segura hit, Bruce as the DH, McCutchen for a full season, LOVE the Phillies.

To Morosi’s credit, while he hedged the boldness of the prediction a bit calling the NL East the “hardest division in all of baseball to project”, he laid out some big predictions for the team. More importantly, he said he’ll run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a Joe Girardi jersey if the Phillies fail to win the division. That’s dedication.

Morosi’s pick to win the NL East takes on his pick to win the AL East as the Phillies take on the Yankees in New York tonight at 6:05PM.

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