Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the season’s second month in the books, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.
In the NL East, it’s the Braves and then everyone else, and none of the four chasing clubs looking likely to narrow what has already become a cavernous gap to first place. Following offseason spending sprees to either bring in new talent or keep talent in house, many expected the Phillies and Mets to duke it out for the division. But following sluggish starts, Philly and New York are left to play catch-up, and even find themselves behind the most unlikely second-place team in the majors: the Washington Nationals.
(Note: Records and standings are up to date through games played on Sunday, May 31st)
First Place: Atlanta Braves (40-20)
Top Position Player: Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson (2.2 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Chris Sale (1.7 fWAR)
Given the unbelievable rash of injuries suffered by their starting rotation before the season even started, I’m not sure anybody predicted that the Braves would have the best record in baseball at the end of May, particularly not in a division alongside the heavy-spending Mets and Phillies. Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrup, and AJ Smith-Shawver all underwent elbow surgeries in the last year and Joey Wentz tore his ACL — there’s a slim chance the former trio could all return just in time for the playoffs while Wentz is out for the year. — meaning 80-percent of the rotation is on the shelf.
But the ageless Chris Sale continues to defy father time at 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 30.2-percent strikeout rate and 1.7 fWAR. Former top prospect Bryce Elder finally looks to be putting it all together in his fifth season in the majors at 4-3 with a 2.50 ERA, 3.28 FIP, and 1.5 fWAR. Veteran journeyman Martín Pérez has been a revelation with a 2.79 ERA in eight starts after being brought in as an emergency reinforcement to the injured rotation. Even Spencer Strider has recovered his strikeout abilities after two years lost to injury and setbacks.
On the offensive side, the Braves continue to churn out homegrown position player stars. The latest is catcher Drake Baldwin, following up his breakout rookie campaign to lead all NL backstops in home runs (13), wRC+ (161) and fWAR (2.2). He’s joined by Matt Olson on 2.2 fWAR, the first baseman back to the peak of his powers with 16 home runs, 45 RBIs, an NL-leading 18 doubles and 127 total bases, and a 142 wRC+.
They front one of the deepest lineups in baseball that has seen the resurgence of Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies from seriously disappointing campaigns in 2025. Harris has rediscovered his power stroke with 13 home runs, a 142 wRC+, and 1.8 fWAR while continuing to play Gold Glove caliber defense in center while Albies has reclaimed his All-Star form with nine home runs, a 113 wRC+, and 1.5 fWAR. It will be scary once Ronald Acuña Jr. really gets going, the former MVP off to a slow start by his lofty standards (seven home runs, 12 stolen bases, a 133 wRC+, and 1.3 fWAR).
They even have a two-headed monster for the eighth and ninth innings, free agent signing Robert Suárez excelling as a setup man with a 0.71 ERA and 2.44 FIP before handing the ball to closer Raisel Iglesias and his 1.02 ERA, 1.21 FIP, and 31.8-percent strikeout rate. All told, this is a complete club from top to bottom, as reflected by the Braves placing third in the NL in runs scored per game and second in runs allowed per game.
Second Place: Washington Nationals (31-29)
Top Position Player: James Wood (2.7 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Cade Cavalli (1.4 fWAR)
Wait a second, the Nationals aren’t supposed to be here! The front office appeared to signal another rebuild when they traded staff ace MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers back in January, but the Nats have vastly outperformed their preseason projections to position themselves as a surprise playoff aspirant. In a way, they are actually an intriguing foil to the team above them in the standings — they lead all of MLB in runs scored per game but also allow the second most runs per game.
Their offense is led by bonafide superstar James Wood, who has emerged as one of the premier sluggers in the league to join the ranks of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. His 16 home runs, 166 wRC+, and 2.7 fWAR are all top-ten marks in MLB as he leads all of baseball in exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and xwOBA. He’s joined at the top of the lineup by CJ Abrams, also one of the best hitters through the first two months with his 12 home runs, 47 RBIs, 160 wRC+, and 2.3 fWAR, the latter two marks placing him among the five best shortstops in the sport.
Cade Cavalli is one of the feel good stories, not just for the Nationals, but in all of baseball. The former top prospect missed all of 2023 and 2024 to Tommy John surgery and rehab setbacks and was on a strict pitching plan last season, so it is heartening to see him finally fulfill his top prospect pedigree at 3-3 with a 3.62 ERA, 3.01 FIP, and 1.4 fWAR with his fastball back in the upper 90s. The pitching drops off a cliff after Cavalli including three of the worst starters in baseball in Miles Mikolas, Zack Littell, and PJ Poulin, so it is no surprise that they cough up over five runs per game.
Third Place: Philadelphia Phillies (30-29)
Top Position Player: Kyle Schwarber (1.7 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Cristopher Sánchez (3.3 fWAR)
Fortunes have improved drastically since the Phillies made one of the earliest managerial firings in recent memory. They moved on from Rob Thomson after a 9-19 start, and have since gone 21-10 under the helm of promoted bench coach Don Mattingly. Still, they dug themselves a huge hole relative to the Braves’ hot start, and have 9.5 games to make up on the division leaders.
It doesn’t help that J.T. Realmuto (71 wRC+, 0.5 fWAR) and Trea Turner (73 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR) are seriously starting to show their age. It also doesn’t help that three lineup starters in Adolis García, Alec Bohm, and top prospect Justin Crawford have been replacement level or worse. This has placed an enormous amount of the burden on Kyle Schwarber and his MLB-leading 22 home runs, the 33-year-old easily pacing the team with a 158 wRC+ and 1.7 fWAR. The only other players who have accrued at least one win are Bryce Harper with his 13 home runs and 139 wRC+ and Brandon Marsh, currently third in the batting title race with a .317 average.
A big part in their turnaround in form has been the performance of Cristopher Sánchez, head and shoulders the best pitcher in MLB so far. Re-signed in the offseason to a team-friendly extension, Sánchez has followed up his runner-up Cy Young finish in 2025 by leading MLB in ERA (1.47), FIP (1.82), and fWAR (3.3). He’s currently on a ridiculous run of 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking a Phillies franchise record.
Elsewhere, Jesús Luzardo has been solid despite suffering some of the worst defense of any starting pitcher, with a 4.30 ERA, 2.75 FIP, and 1.9 fWAR after signing his own extension shortly before Sánchez. Zack Wheeler is redefining our expectations of pitcher performance post-thoracic outlet surgery, and has a 2.27 ERA and 3.42 FIP in seven starts.
Fourth Place: New York Mets (26-33)
Top Position Player: Juan Soto (1.9 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Clay Holmes and David Peterson (1.1 fWAR)
Mets fans rejoice, you are no longer in last place! After spending much of April and May with the worst record in baseball, the Mets steadied things enough to lift themselves off the floor of the division. Ownership surprisingly reaffirmed their commitment to manager Carlos Mendoza, and his players responded by going 16-12 in May.
However, there is not much reason for optimism. Outside of Juan Soto, the offense just has not shown up. Soto has more than held up his end of the bargain, leading the NL in wRC+ (175) while mashing 13 home runs to add up to 1.9 fWAR despite missing two weeks with a minor calf injury. Injuries have certainly taken their toll, with Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., and Francisco Alvarez missing significant time. Lindor has been out with a calf injury since late April but wasn’t producing when healthy, his 95 wRC+ almost 30 points lower than his career mark with the Mets. They absolutely miss Pete Alonso’s bat in the middle of the lineup, but perhaps the biggest problem has been the performance of Bo Bichette following his big money offseason signing, the former Blue Jay placing sixth-worst among qualified hitters in the NL with his 69 wRC+.
This has left a similarly injury-affected pitching staff an impossible task. Clay Holmes was their best starter with a 2.39 ERA, 3.19 FIP, and 1.1 fWAR until a Spencer Jones comebacker broke his fibula and sidelined him until August. When your most valuable remaining starter owns an ERA of 5.18, you know you are in trouble (though in fairness to David Peterson, his 2.99 FIP suggests he’s been the victim of some particularly rotten luck). Preseason NL Rookie of the Year favorite Nolan McClean has disappointed of late with his 4.21 ERA, as has marquee winter trade acquisition Freddy Peralta, who has pitched more like a mid-rotation arm than the ace they were expecting him to be. Oh yeah, and Devin Williams has a 5.68 ERA.
Last Place: Miami Marlins (26-34)
Top Position Player: Max Meyer (1.6 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Xavier Edwards (2.6 fWAR)
Many thought the Marlins could be a dark horse contender for a Wild Card spot after improving from 62-100 in 2024 to 79-83 in 2025. However, they may have traded away one too many of their surplus starting pitchers, Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera doing well for the Yankees and Cubs, respectively, following their winter trades.
Max Meyer was one of their most promising pitching prospects, but had his career derailed by multiple major surgeries such that he made just 25 appearances from 2022 through 2025. He’s finally healthy and leading the line in Miami with a 5-0 record, 2.97 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 1.6 fWAR. Otherwise, Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez have seriously disappointed, the former with a 4.66 ERA and 4.28 FIP and the latter with a 4.60 ERA and 4.64 FIP.
Middle infield duo Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez have lead the way on offense, the former posting a 148 wRC+ and 2.6 fWAR and the latter at a 127 wRC+ and 2.0 fWAR. They should get Griffin Conine and his 164 wRC+ back soon from a torn hamstring, though 2025 breakout star Kyle Stowers is proving that last year might have been a fluke now that he is at replacement level at an 86 wRC+
Read the full article here