The Atlanta Braves are 20-9 — the only above-.500 team in the NL East, with a 6.5-game lead over the second-place Miami Marlins (13-15). The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, Atlanta’s expected top competition, are both 9-19, a whopping 10.5 games behind.

There isn’t a better team in baseball right now. It’s early. We aren’t even to the 30-game mark in a 162-game season. And yet, it feels like the NL East race is already over. So… is it? The Braves won 104 games in 2023, lest we forget. There’s precedent with this group. Let’s dive in:

Why the Braves are dominating the NL East right now

To keep it short: the Braves are good at everything.

So far, it’s hard to poke holes in this Atlanta roster. Despite countless injuries to the pitching staff and despite another PED suspension for Jurickson Profar, the Braves are out-hitting and out-pitching opponents almost universally.

Atlanta ranks second in MLB in batting average (.273), first in hits (266), third in home runs (38) and second in ERA (3.24). That’ll get the job done.

The Braves’ lineup has spent the last couple seasons trudging through injuries and slumps, but it really does feel like 2023 right now. The stars are playing like stars. Even the bit players and bench guys are finding ways to put the ball in play and drive in runs.

Here’s how the lineup has produced so far:

Matt Olson is up there with Shohei Ohtani and Nico Hoerner in the NL MVP race. Michael Harris, after a quiet 2025 campaign (.678 OPS), has come back around with a vengeance. This is the five-tool star Braves fans thought he was in 2022, when Harris ran away with the Rookie of the Year award.

Drake Baldwin is the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, and rightfully so. He was one of the few bright spots in a nightmare Braves season. He’s not just building on that succes; Baldwin has somehow leveled up. Sean Murphy, the Braves’ longtime All-Star catcher, is still rehabbing in the Minors, but it’s easy to forget about him. Atlanta has a superstar catcher with unbelievable natural power and a plate approach that is refined beyond his years.

Ozzie Albies was a disaster in 2025. There were Braves fans wondering aloud if it was time for a change at second base. His current OPS would set a new career high, eclipsing the .849 OPS he posted during that 104-win 2023 campaign.

The Dominic Smith breakout was unexpected. It’s probably not sustainable — at least not at this level — but the Braves should also expect positive regression from Ronald Acuña and Austin Riley, two multi-time All-Stars still shaking off the rust (Acuña picked up two hits in Sunday’s series-clincing win over Philadelphia).

Even Mike Yastrzemski in the No. 9 hole is better than this. He finished with a .735 OPS and 17 homers a year ago. The Braves probably viewed him as more of a platoon bat next to Profar, so the latter’s suspension has left Yastrzemski stretched thin. Still, he’s going to come around, too.

Worth noting: the Braves will get Ha-seong Kim back eventually, further strengthening their infield depth chart. This lineup, this roster, is a buzzsaw.

Is the Braves’ pitching sustainable?

Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep all hit the IL before Opening Day. AJ Smith-Shawver is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. It felt like we were due for another season of misery with this Braves pitching staff. Instead, Chris Sale and company have picked up the slack (and then some).

Atlanta has the best staff in the National League right now. It makes absolutely zero sense, and yet it feels (mostly) real. Sale is a Cy Young winner and a nine-time All-Star. We know what he’s capable of. The success of Bryce Elder, Reynaldo López and others, however, has been a major boon — one completely unexpected in nature.

Elder is easily the most pleasant surprise. He was entirely unreliable a year ago, forced into a role far exceeding his ability by Atlanta’s injuries (5.30 ERA in 156.1 innings). He has since reworked his slider with some help from Greg Maddux and decreased his sinker usage, emerging as a steady workhorse who can comfortably eat six or seven innings in every start.

Martin Pérez was an emergency signing — a pure depth option to fill out the spring training roster. He has stepped in and stepped up in a pinch. JR Ritchie, Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect, fired seven innings of two-run ball in his debut. Grant Holmes has weathered a few rough patches and given the Braves plenty of length.

There will be regression for most of Atlanta’s pitchers, of course, but Strider is nearing his return. Schwellenbach and Waldrep are both due back this season. The Braves will get healthier. Depth on the mound was a huge issue last season. Right now, it might be Atlanta’s superpower.

It helps that Atlanta stocked up in the bullpen, too. Raisel Iglesias is hurt, so Robert Suárez — who was closing over Mason Miler in San Diego last season — has stepped into the ninth-inning role seamlessly. Dylan Lee and Tyler Kinley both have sub-2.00 ERAs out of the pen. The Braves’ offense builds leads and the bullpen typically upkeeps them.

Again, very few holes.

Is there any challenger in the NL East?

Here are the NL East standings. The gap is wide in Atlanta’s favor, and there’s no real indication of the gap decreasing in the immediate future.

Order	Team	Record	GB
1	Atlanta Braves	20-9	—
2	Miami Marlins	13-15	6.5
3	Washington Nationals	13-16	7
4	Philadelphia Phillies	9-19	10.5
5	New York Mets	9-19	10.5

The Mets recently broke a 12-game losing streak, winning two of three against the Minnesota Twins… only to get swept by the Colorado Rockies at home. The Phillies just lost two of three in Atlanta, the one win — in extra innings and in the rain — breaking their own 10-game skid.

Coming into the season, the Phillies were the favorites to win the division, with the Mets a close second. Those are the two worst teams in baseball right now. It’s worth reiterating just how early it is, as we’re a little over a month into a seven-month campaign. But history tells us that slow starts can be difficult to overcome. The hole can get too deep, even in April.

Both the Phillies and Mets are looking at potentially sweeping changes in the days or weeks ahead. Rob Thomson and Carlos Mendoza are on the hot seat. Those front offices are no doubt scrambling for answers. Both clubs are talented enough, in theory, to turn their season around. But to sneak into the Wild Card race is one thing. To topple the Braves, with a 10-game head start and the most well-rounded roster in the Majors, is another challenge entirely. Perhaps an impossible one.

The Braves would need to suffer a damn near historic collapse to even make this a race. At least with the Phillies and Mets. The Marlins and Nationals are a bit closer to striking distance, but the Marlins and Nationals are, well…. the Marlins and Nationals. Miami is way too young and way too volatile. The Nats are in a similar bucket, loaded with big boppers, but essentially devoid of quality pitching.

We can’t say with certainty that Atlanta has the division wrapped up, but it’s 99 percent a done deal. Unless the Braves are hit with another torrential wave of injuries and other bad luck factors, there’s simply no indication that Philadelphia or New York — the teams actually built to challenge Atlanta — can recover from their deep-rooted issues.

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