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Way-too-early playoff preview: What if Cubs face Nats in NLCS?

Then a Met, Daniel Murphy helped send Anthony Rizzo and the Cubs home from the playoffs in 2015. Could he do it again this season? Getty Images

CHICAGO -- The Washington Nationals have played in the shadow of the Chicago Cubs all season. While the Nats angle for their first World Series, the nation watches slack-jawed as the Cubs charge to a historic season.

A healthy Nationals team should put fear in any Cubs fan. The Nats can match Chicago in terms of top-shelf talent (Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg), but are also deep in both the lineup and rotation. Still, with Strasburg's health a big question mark, Washington would enter a possible National League Championship Series matchup as a decided underdog.

Let's see how it looks on the spreadsheet.