Depending on your perspective, the National League East is either the gauntlet it was expected to be, or a tattered collective of teams limping to the finish line with the one who fails the least likely to take the top spot among the five clubs. Currently, though, it’s not the New York Mets and their slew of notable offseason moves, or the Philadelphia Phillies and whatever it was that they were hoping to accomplish at the trade deadline. Instead, it’s Atlanta holding the top spot and vying for a fourth straight division crown.
Myriad factors have allowed them to grab ahold of first despite the absence of all-world outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.