Braves, Marlins hot starts lead to early season pivotal series

The Major League Baseball season may only be a week old, but both the Braves and Marlins are off to the best starts in baseball at 5-1.

Heading into week two, Atlanta and Florida meet in Turner Field for not only the best record in baseball, but also the lead in the National League East.

Not only are neither of these teams expected to win the division, neither are expected to even make the playoffs, but their early starts have many experts reconsidering both teams.

For the Marlins, many believe they may have the best young staff in baseball. This group of pitchers, averaging out at an age of 24, is currently 4-1 on the season and a 2.71 ERA through six starts. However, odds are you would not recognize one in the street, much less their names.

For the Marlins, still without a division title but two World Series titles, the pitching staff is not their brightest stars. That would belong to the best young infield in baseball of Hanley Ramiriez and Dan Uggla. Both players already have All-Star appearances under their belts and are the glue in the middle of the Florida order.

Expand to include the entire Marlins infield, bringing in Jorge Cantu and Emilio Bonifacio from the corners, and this quartet has accounted for all but one of the Fish's home runs on the season and driving in 27 of the team's 36 RBIs this season. It also doesn't hurt that this group is hitting .367 to begin the young season.

Across the diamond this week, the Braves are off to a not too shabby start themselves.

The Braves starting rotation, with three new additions this season, are 4-0 with a 3.06 ERA and are bit more recognizable, especially with Derek Lowe dominating opposing batters with a 0.82 ERA in two starts.

While the Marlins would rely mostly on their pitching staff for a rise to the top, the Braves will likely go as far as their offense will take them.

The Braves are leading the National League in average, slugging percentage and extra base hits so far this season, all while only playing six games while most of the league have played seven or eight games. Out of the everyday starters for Atlanta, five of them have an on-base percentage over .400 and seven of the eight are over .345. Easy enough to say when players get on base, it is a lot easier to score.

So, as these two teams prepare to battle for the early division lead, there is still the notion that no matter the outcome of the series, both teams will still have 153 games to sort out their seasons. However, the winner of the series will no doubt send a message to the rest of the division that their team will be around all year long to battle for the division title.