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MLB 2024: What to make of Braves, Mets, Phillies in NL East

From Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Braves offense struggling to the state of the Mets, it's been a strange start for the NL East. Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images

It looks like we're headed for a much different race in the National League East than last season, when the Atlanta Braves cruised to a division title behind a record-setting offense. They spent just one day out of first place after their third game of the season and pulled away in the second half to win the division by a whopping 14 games.

The Philadelphia Phillies have reversed their slow starts of the past two seasons -- when they were under .500 at the beginning of June -- to become the hottest team in baseball, led by a deep starting rotation and a locked-in Bryce Harper. They moved into first place in the NL East last weekend as they swept a four-game series from the Giants while the Braves suffered a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Washington Nationals and New York Mets, meanwhile, are hanging around .500, which puts them in the thick of the wild-card chase. And the Miami Marlins, last year's surprise wild-card team ... Well, they're on pace for the worst record in franchise history.

With the Braves and Mets squaring off on Sunday Night Baseball this weekend at 7 p.m. ET, let's take stock of the division with 10 questions, starting with Atlanta and New York.