Welcome to the 20th 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. Milwaukee Brewers (71-44); 6-0 this week; >99.9% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Brewers are now on a seven-game win streak after a sweep of their six-game road trip against the Nationals and Braves before winning Friday’s thrilling series opener against the Mets.
Brice Turang led the Brewers with three homers this week, hitting .346/.370/.808 with another three doubles and nine RBIs. Isaac Collins, fresh off winning NL Rookie of the Month, led the team with 10 hits this week, hitting .455/.571/.773 with a homer, two doubles, a triple, eight RBIs, five runs, four walks, and a steal. Andrew Vaughn, Blake Perkins, and Christian Yelich also homered.
Brandon Woodruff added two more wins this week, allowing four runs over 13 innings (2.77 ERA) with 16 strikeouts. Freddy Peralta went five innings with one run allowed and seven strikeouts, while Jose Quintana and Quinn Priester both added quality starts. Trevor Megill picked up a trio of saves while Abner Uribe, Grant Anderson, Jared Koenig, and Nick Mears had scoreless weeks.
Milwaukee’s homestand continues with the Mets through Sunday before three games with the Pirates. They’ll have an off day on Thursday before beginning a stretch of 19 games in 18 days, starting with the Reds in Cincinnati next Friday.
2. Chicago Cubs (66-49); 2-4 this week; 97.8% chance to make postseason
The Cubs had a rough week, taking two of three against the Orioles but losing three of their next four games against the Reds (1-2) and Cardinals (0-1) heading into the weekend.
Ian Happ’s homer and two doubles led the Cubs in what was overall a quiet week offensively, as he hit .333/.391/.571 with seven hits. Dansby Swanson slugged a pair of homers and drove in four, while Nico Hoerner led the team with eight hits.
Matthew Boyd had a solid pair of starts but went 0-1 on the week, allowing three runs with 11 strikeouts over 12 innings. Shota Imanaga struck out seven and allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings, while Cade Horton stretched his scoreless innings streak with 5 2/3 scoreless frames and six strikeouts. Drew Pomeranz, Taylor Rogers, Brad Keller, and Nate Pearson also had scoreless weeks.
The Cubs finish up in St. Louis on Sunday before an off day on Monday. They’ll then head to Toronto for three games before returning home to welcome the Pirates and Brewers for eight games in seven days.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (59-58); 4-2 this week; 6.5% chance to make postseason
The Cards had a strong week against some tough opponents, going 3-3 against the Padres (1-2) and Dodgers (2-1) out west before winning Friday’s series openers against the Cubs.
Willson Contreras, Nolan Gorman, Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés, Jordan Walker, and Masyn Winn each homered this week, as Herrera’s eight hits also led the team. Walker, Winn, and Alec Burleson all finished second on the team with seven hits each, with Winn adding a pair of doubles.
Sonny Gray went seven innings with one run allowed, striking out a team-high eight this week. Michael McGreevy picked up a pair of wins, allowing four runs over 12 innings and striking out seven. Matt Svanson and Kyle Leahy led the bullpen with two scoreless outings (7 1/3 innings total) each. JoJo Romero also picked up a pair of saves as he looks like the new closer after Ryan Helsley’s departure at the trade deadline.
The Cardinals continue a long nine-game homestand through next weekend, as the Cubs, Rockies, and Yankees all come to town.
4. Cincinnati Reds (60-57); 2-4 this week; 26.5% chance to make postseason
The Reds had a middling week, dropping two of three to the Braves before winning their series with the Cubs and losing the first two games of their four-game set with the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson hit the lone homers for Cincy this week, with TJ Friedl’s nine hits leading the team. Gavin Lux added seven hits, while Miguel Andujar reached base five times in 11 plate appearances (.455 OBP) in his first week with the team.
Chase Burns made a pair of starts, spanning seven innings with one run allowed and a team-high 12 strikeouts. Zack Littell went seven innings with eight strikeouts and one run allowed in his start, while Luis Mey went 2 1/3 scoreless innings across three appearances from the bullpen. Sam Moll, Lyon Richardson, Emilio Pagán, and Graham Ashcraft also had scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
The Reds wrap up their road trip in Pittsburgh on Sunday, as they’ll head home to take on the Phillies and the Brewers in the next week.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (51-66); 4-3 this week; <0.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had a strange week, dropping two of three to both the Rockies and Giants before taking the first two games of their four-game set with the Reds heading into the weekend.
Liover Peguero homered three times and Spencer Horwitz added a pair of homers on the week, hitting .318/.375/.636 with seven hits. Bryan Reynolds had eight hits, including a homer, three doubles, and a triple. Nick Gonzales led the offense with nine hits, driving in three.
Paul Skenes had a “down” week, making a pair of starts with four runs allowed over 11 innings, striking out a team-high 16 batters. Andrew Heaney also had a solid, though short, start, allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings. Dauri Moreta, Carmen Mlodzinski, Ryan Borucki, Yohan Ramírez, and Cam Sanders had scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
Pittsburgh finishes up their homestand on Sunday against Cincinnati before they head to the Midwest to take on the Brewers and Cubs.
