The 2024 regular season is moving right along and while it's too early to make definitive claims, there are plenty of teams, players and storylines worth monitoring.

For instance, take the AL and NL Central divisions, which were perceived as two of the weakest entering the season. Instead, the NL Central boasts the second-best overall record (59-48), while the AL Central is led by three teams above .500 after finishing last season below that mark.

Those two central divisions are front and center of this week's five series to watch.

Brewers at Pirates
4 games (Monday-Thursday)

Head-to-head: The Brewers thoroughly dominated the 2023 series, winning eight of 13 games against the Pirates while outscoring them 74 to 52.

Storyline: The Brewers offense. A year after Milwaukee had one of the weakest offenses of the playoff teams, Brewers hitters have flipped the script and rank in the top five in runs-per-game (5.60), OPS (.804) and SLG (.451). They've been led by a scorching-hot William Contreras, who has a .987 OPS and has cemented himself as one of the top catchers in the sport. Even with Christian Yelich on the injured list, others like Blake Perkins (.968 OPS) and Brice Turang (.884 OPS) have helped fill that void.

Watch out for: Jared Jones. The 22-year-old-rookie has been nothing short of a revelation. Jones -- who has a 3.13 ERA and an astonishing 32 strikeouts compared to just two walks -- will start on Monday vs. the Brewers. Relying mainly on a 97 mph heater and upper-80s slider, Jones has induced whiffs on 39 percent of swings, the highest rate among pitchers with at least 20 innings. With Paul Skenes (MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect) dominating in Triple-A, the future looks bright for the Pirates rotation.

Giants at Mets
3 games (Monday-Wednesday)

Head-to-head: The Mets took eight of 14 games from the Giants from 2022-23 and outscored San Francisco by a healthy 84-63 margin.

Storyline: Can the Mets keep it rolling? Following an 0-5 start, the Mets have reeled off 12 wins in their last 16 games and just took two of three games against the Dodgers in L.A. The Mets will have to weather the storm with injuries to key players like Kodai Senga and Francisco Alvarez, but this club looks much improved from a disappointing 2023 season when they went 75-87.

Watch out for: The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. It's been a rocky start to Blake Snell's Giants career as the lefty has allowed 15 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings across three starts. His 11.57 ERA might be overstating how rough Snell's start has been -- his .410 BABIP and 39.6 percent strand rate won't continue -- but it's still a far cry from the pitcher who had a 1.23 ERA in his final 21 starts last season. Snell is lined up to pitch the series finale on Wednesday.

Mariners at Rangers
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)

Head-to-head: Texas went 9-4 against the Mariners in 2023, a key factor in allowing the Rangers to best their AL West foes for a Wild Card spot and ultimately allowed them to go on their run to a World Series title.

Storyline: Will one of these teams establish themselves as the clear AL West favorite? Houston is off to a 7-16 start, while the Angels and A's are not expected to contend in the division. Neither the Rangers nor Mariners are off to a hot start, but their paths to winning the AL West could be much easier in 2024. Whereas the division and Wild Card spots came down to the final weekend of the '23 season, it's possible for a much smoother playoff path with the Astros' rough start.

Watch out for: The slow-starting stars on each team. Corey Seager (.667 OPS), Julio Rodríguez (.625) and J.P. Crawford (.576) are all playing well below their 2023 levels and projected '24 expectations. Evan Carter (.729 OPS) and Wyatt Langford (.601), too, entered the season with big expectations as top prospects. It won't be long until these players get going -- perhaps that will come in this AL West matchup.

Royals at Tigers
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Tigers decisively won last year's season series by taking 10 of 13 games and outscoring the Royals 70 to 43. However, it's clear the Royals are a different team this season.

Storyline: How about these Royals? The club surprised the baseball world when it splurged in the free-agent market and inked young star Bobby Witt Jr. to a 14-year megadeal over the offseason. The moves paid major dividends as the Royals are off to a 13-9 start, are dominating both sides of the ball and have outscored their opponents by 38 runs. With Witt and Cole Ragans establishing themselves as stars, this team has the makings of a potential contender.

Watch out for: The emerging ace on the Tigers. Since returning from injury on July 4 last year, Tarik Skubal leads all qualified starters with 3.9 WAR (FanGraphs), boasts a 2.68 ERA in 104 innings and has a spectacular 128-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In no small part to his changeup becoming one of baseball's best pitches, the 27-year-old Skubal has soared into the top tier of starting pitchers. The lefty is lined up to pitch in the series finale on Sunday.

Guardians at Braves
3 games (Friday-Sunday)

Head-to-head: The Braves took two of three games last season, outscoring the Guardians 17 to 9.

Storyline: We knew the Braves offense would be good. That wasn't necessarily the case for the Guardians. Following a season when the Guardians scored the fourth-fewest runs in the Majors, Cleveland only trails the Braves, O's, D-backs and Brewers in runs-per-game (5.64) this season -- despite José Ramírez performing below career norms (.655 OPS). Josh Naylor (1.016 OPS), Steven Kwan (.358 BA) and Andrés Giménez (.362 OBP) have led the way for the Guardians, while role players like David Fry (.917 OPS) and Gabriel Arias (.468 SLG) have pitched in.

Watch out for: The Braves offense. It'll be hard to replicate last year's offensive performance but the Braves are certainly trying their best. Braves hitters lead the Majors in runs-per-game (6.25), batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.353) and slugging percentage (.475). It's been a collective effort, too, as nine of the 10 Braves hitters with 30 plate appearances have an above-average wRC+. Once Ronald Acuña Jr. (128 wRC+) really gets going, watch out.