MLB news: 3 things to know as June schedule begins

The calendar has officially flipped to June, and we are past the time when fans can stay it’s “still early in the season.” With that in mind, let’s take a look at three things that stand out to us on June 1 in this edition of MLB news and notes.

MLB news: American League East continues to be weird

Sure, much of the news has centered around the Tampa Bay Rays and how they have dominated through the first two full months of the 2023 schedule, going 40-18 to hold the best record in all of baseball. But did you know that every team in the AL East is above .500 as June begins, and every one of the five teams has a positive run differential as well? No other division can boast either of those stats.

From top to bottom, it’s hard to argue against the AL East as the best division in baseball right now.

MLB news: Texas Rangers continue to be the offensive threat

Remember how so much of the offseason news focused on Texas and the pitching side of the equation? When you sign Jacob deGrom, that’s going to gather a lot of attention, but perhaps we all overlooked the offensive juggernaut the Rangers were at the plate.

Entering play on June 1, Texas leads all MLB teams with 346 runs scored this season and has bypassed the Rays to become the run differential leaders at plus-131. Building a 35-20 record and sitting on top of the AL West, only Tampa Bay has a better record than the Rangers so far this season.

Everything is bigger in Texas they say, including the offensive numbers.

MLB news: Arizona Diamondbacks still surprising

Just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, the Diamondbacks are 33-23 and showing they are no fluke. While much of the focus this winter was on the San Diego Padres challenging for the NL West title, Arizona has put together a good young core and Zac Gallen is pacing what has become a dependable group of starters.

It’s only going to get hotter in the desert as the summer cranks up. Will the Diamondbacks stay hot as well?