National League East

Biggest Positive Surprise : Miami isn't half bad?

It feels every bit as smoke and mirrors-y as it did in 2023 when they snuck into the postseason with a negative-57 run differential, but raise your hand if your preseason predictions had Miami sitting two games ahead of Atlanta 23 games into the season. (Better yet, raise your hand if you think you could name even half of the Marlins' 12 team leaders in plate appearances.)

Lo and behold, there they sit at nearly .500 despite playing 14 of their first 21 games against the Mets, Phillies, Braves and Diamondbacks.

Matt Mervis is leading the way with six home runs after a few rough stints in the majors with the Cubs over the past two seasons. Kyle Stowers entered the year with a .600 OPS in 117 career games played, but he's at .847 and now entrenched in the heart of the order. And Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, has been exquisite through five starts with a 2.10 ERA and a 12.3 K/9.

If Sandy Alcantara can get back to his former Cy Young form, the Marlins might just hang onto what we've long assumed will be one of the top trade chips on the move this summer.

Between a brutal opening schedule and not having Ronald Acuña Jr. or Spencer Strider available out of the gates, there was always a distinct possibility that Atlanta could get out to a rough start to the year. Even the most pessimistic projections didn't have things going this poorly, though.

Atlanta lost Jurickson Profar for 80 games for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy, possibly lost Reynaldo López for the year and had Strider make just one appearance in his return from Tommy John surgery before landing back on the IL with a hamstring injury.

Atlanta has been mostly competent since its 0-7 start against the Padres and Dodgers, but there are holes throughout the lineup and the pitching staff that will make it challenging to battle back for a spot in the postseason.