Welcome to the eighth week of our NL Central Power Rankings! We’ll release these rankings each week to grade all five teams and place them one through five. As everyone knows with power rankings, these should be taken as gospel and they’re obviously 100% accurate. Without further ado, let’s rank some teams!
1. Chicago Cubs (26-19); 4-2 this week; 90.7% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Cubs had another solid week, though they did lose two of three to the Mets last weekend. They bounced back with a 2-1 series win over the Marlins and started Rivalry Weekend with a win against the White Sox.
Pete Crow-Armstrong had another huge week, leading the team with eight hits as he homered three times, drove in nine runs, and hit .421/.429/.895 across 19 at-bats. Seiya Suzuki also homered twice, while Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner each had five hits in six games.
On the pitching side, the Cubs got quality starts from Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Colin Rea, who continues to have a strong season after departing Milwaukee. Drew Pomeranz picked up a save and worked two scoreless frames over two appearances.
The Cubs continue their series with the White Sox this weekend before a road trip that takes them to Miami and Cincinnati.
2. St. Louis Cardinals (25-20); 5-1 this week; 35.2% chance to make postseason
St. Louis continues to blow opponents away since their doubleheader on May 4, winning nine straight before dropping the first game of another doubleheader this past Wednesday. They then bounced back to take game two of the day, ultimately winning two of three against the Phillies. They’re in Kansas City for Rivalry Weekend, where they took the series opener Friday night.
Lars Nootbaar, Masyn Winn, and Willson Contreras all had great weeks, but Iván Herrera was the leader of the offense as he returned from injury. After a red-hot start, he looked like he didn’t miss any time, going 9-for-18 with a homer, five RBIs, and six runs this week.
Miles Mikolas, who hasn’t had a great year overall, made one of his best starts of the season, allowing one run over 5 1⁄3 innings. Andre Pallante went seven frames in a victory, and Kyle Leahy and Ryan Helsley continue to anchor the bullpen. Erick Fedde also worked 5 2⁄3 scoreless innings in his start this week.
The Cardinals return home after finishing up with the Royals, and they’ll battle the Tigers and Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (21-24); 2-4 this week; 23.7% chance to make postseason
Milwaukee had another rough week, going 2-4 on their road trip as they salvaged the series finale against both the Rays and Guardians. They’ll wrap up their interleague stretch with series against the Twins and Orioles during a six-game homestand that began Friday night.
William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins, and Jake Bauers all had solid weeks, picking up six hits each. Hoskins led the team with six RBIs while hitting .353/.450/.588 across 17 at-bats. Bauers batted .400 over 15 at-bats, while Contreras went 6-for-20 with a homer and two doubles.
Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick both made solid starts to wrap up the week, while Quinn Priester suffered from some more bad luck as he allowed three runs (one earned) over five innings in a loss. Tyler Alexander went four scoreless innings out of the bullpen while Abner Uribe and Nick Mears continue to shut opposing teams down.
After the Twins and Orioles series, they’ll head to Pittsburgh for a quick four-game road trip against the Pirates.
4. Cincinnati Reds (22-24); 3-3 this week; 3.5% chance to make postseason
The Reds looked even worse than the Brewers this week, dropping two of three against the Astros before losing two of three to the lowly White Sox at home in the middle of the week. They’re taking on the Guardians for three games during Rivalry Weekend.
Will Benson and Elly De La Cruz led the team with two homers each this week, as Benson batted .429/.529/.929 and De La Cruz batted .316/.350/.684. Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux both had six hits to tie for the team lead.
Andrew Abbott allowed one run over six innings in his start, and Nick Martinez worked a gem, allowing no runs over seven frames in a winning effort. The bullpen didn’t have a great week, but Brent Suter, Lyon Richardson, Graham Ashcraft, and Luis Mey were all scoreless in their outings.
The Reds next head to Pittsburgh for three games, then return home for a three-game series with the Cubs.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (15-30); 2-4 this week; 0.1% chance to make postseason
Pittsburgh finally won a series, taking two of three against the Braves last weekend (that’s their first series win since taking two of three from the Angels April 22-24), but they followed that up with a series loss to the Mets. They’ll continue their stretch against NL East teams as they battle the Phillies in Philadelphia this weekend.
Pittsburgh’s offense has truly stagnated, but Alexander Canario had a huge week. He went 8-for-17 with a homer, a double, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Joey Bart tied for second on the team with five hits each, but that’s about all she wrote.
Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Andrew Heaney all had strong starts, but the lack of offense resulted in a 0-1 record for that group (Keller got the loss). Chase Shugart and Dennis Santana both got wins out of the bullpen as they worked 2 1⁄3 and two scoreless innings, respectively.
The Pirates head across Pennsylvania to return home after this weekend, where they’ll welcome the Reds and Brewers in a week of division matchups.
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