The National League West is the best division in the MLB, by far

The American League West is home to the reigning World Series champions (Texas Rangers) and another team seeking its eighth consecutive appearance in the League Championship Series (Houston Astros).

According to Spotrac, the AL East (New York Yankees) and the National League East (New York Mets) are home to the two highest-paying teams in the sport, both of which play in the country’s largest media market.

The NL East also features two strong, star-studded teams battling for the top spot in the division in Atlanta and Philadelphia, with the up-and-coming Phillies looking to break the Braves’ streak of six consecutive division titles.

These are all good storylines, but none capture the intensity of baseball’s hottest division.

Welcome to the National League West. In one of the wildest examples of division-wide dominance, they are not only the only team with a win percentage of .600 or higher since the All-Star break – they are the only division with a win percentage over .500, according to OptaStats:

It’s a level of dominance that was anything but boring – or random.

Let’s start at the top: The Los Angeles Dodgers recently brought back third baseman Max Muncy and shortstop/center fielder Tommy Edman to complete one of the strongest lineups in baseball.

Read more: Dodgers get important reinforcements, but lose experienced hitter with broken toe

Combined with the trade-deadline additions of former White Sox closer Michael Kopech and former Detroit Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers are a balanced behemoth ready to reach their potential. At 75-52 through Tuesday, they have the best record in MLB.

There was just one problem: the Dodgers were unable to eliminate the competition in their own division.

The San Diego Padres (72-55 through Tuesday) and Arizona Diamondbacks (71-56) are both just four games out of the league lead. That’s because they have the best records in MLB since the All-Star break: San Diego is 22-6, Arizona is 22-8. (The San Francisco Giants are a not-too-bad 18-13 during that time, which is good enough to even the Rockies’ 13-16 record since the break.)

Time will tell if this dominance is just a one-month blip or at least something close to a true measure of the talent in the division. My guess is the latter.

While the Dodgers have seen a steady increase in performance since the recovery of their best players, the Padres and Diamondbacks can cite solid reasons for their sudden dominance.

San Diego signed coveted former Miami Marlins closer Tanner Scott at the trade deadline – just the latest in a string of new additions since the start of spring training that also includes rotation ace Dylan Cease and All-Star infielder Luis Arraez.

When you consider the performance of center fielder Jackson Merrill (with a batting average of .330/.355/.649 since the break), which would have earned a Rookie of the Year title, the Padres’ rise looks realistic.

Since the break, the Diamondbacks have gotten the version of Corbin Carroll they expected from the reigning NL Rookie of the Year at the start of the season. His power, which was lacking at the start of the season, has shown up in the form of a 148 wRC+. Ketel Marte, Jake McCarthy, Joc Pederson and Eugenio Suárez have also formed a strong supporting cast.

Look for the three teams to stay together at the top of the division until the end of a thrilling finale.