Welcome to the 23rd 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 (84-52); 3-4 this week; >99.9% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Brewers had another “rough” week but they still set the pace atop the NL Central and MLB as a whole, with a league-best 84 wins with just over a month to go. After dropping two of three to the Giants
last weekend, the Crew split four games with the D-backs before taking the series opener in a big three-game set with the Blue Jays, who entered the series atop the AL standings.
William Contreras, Caleb Durbin, and Andruw Monasterio each hit a pair of homers this week, as all three were among the team leaders in hits for the week. Durbin led the way with 11 hits, including those homers and four doubles. For the week, he hit .458/.480/.875 with four RBIs and four runs scored. Christian Yelich had nine hits and four RBIs on the week, while Isaac Collins drove in five with five hits, including three doubles.
Freddy Peralta continues his insane month of August, as he went 11 innings across a pair of scoreless starts, striking out 14. Chad Patrick also made a solid spot start as the Brewers continue to deal with injuries, while Easton McGee, Shelby Miller, and Abner Uribe all had great weeks out of the bullpen, allowing no runs over 10 total innings.
The Brewers finish up August in Toronto before returning home for a quick three-game, four-day homestand with the Phillies. They’ll be back on the road in Pittsburgh next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (77-58); 3-3 this week; >99.9% chance to make postseason
The Cubs had an interesting week, sweeping the Angels before being swept by the Giants to enter the last leg of their road trip at .500. They’re now in Colorado to face the Rockies, who they beat 11-7 on Friday night.
Dansby Swanson had a strong week, hitting .318/.375/.864 with a team-high three homers and eight RBIs, while Michael Busch and Kyle Tucker added two homers each. Nico Hoerner collected a team-high eight hits, including a homer and three doubles, driving in four.
Cade Horton continues to impress and make his case for NL Rookie of the Year, as he picked up a pair of wins with just two runs allowed (1.64 ERA) and 11 strikeouts across 11 innings this week. Jameson Taillon worked five innings with one run allowed in his start, while Caleb Thielbar and Brad Keller each had scoreless bullpen weeks.
After finishing up the road trip on Sunday, the Cubs return home to welcome the Braves and Nationals for three games each through next weekend.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (67-69); 3-3 this week; 1.4% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals jump over the Reds in this week’s power rankings, as they’ve hung around despite unloading several key pieces at the deadline. After dropping two of three to the Rays over the weekend, the Cardinals split four games with the Pirates before winning Friday’s series opener with Cincinnati.
There were no clear standouts offensively for the Cards this week, though Alec Burleson led the team with six hits, including a homer and a double. Iván Herrera added five hits, including a homer and a double, while Thomas Saggese hit a pair of doubles.
Sonny Gray took a tough luck loss in his start this week, going seven innings with two runs allowed (one earned) and seven strikeouts. Miles Mikolas worked five innings with one run allowed in his appearance, while JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez, and Kyle Leahy had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
St. Louis will wrap up the road trip against the Reds on Sunday before returning home to take on the A’s and Giants to begin September.
4. Cincinnati Reds (68-67); 1-5 this week; 7.1% chance to make postseason
The Reds, who were very much in playoff contention just a couple of weeks ago, have fallen on hard times and fallen from the No. 2 spot to the No. 4 spot in these rankings over that time. They dropped two of three in Arizona last weekend before being swept by the Dodgers to begin this week. They then lost Friday’s series opener with the Cardinals, as they’re now just 1-7 in their last eight games.
Noelvi Marte and Spencer Steer each slugged a pair of homers this week, while Austin Hays led the team with eight hits, including a homer and a double, adding a pair of steals. Nobody else batted above .250 for the week.
Brady Singer worked six innings with one run allowed and a team-high nine strikeouts this week, while Graham Ashcraft picked up the lone win in relief, tossing a perfect inning with one strikeout. Scott Barlow and Emilio Pagán also had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
Cincinnati continues the homestand into September, as they’ll welcome the Blue Jays and Mets after the Cardinals leave town on Sunday.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (60-76); 5-2 this week; <0.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates are making some noise despite sitting at the bottom of these rankings all season, as they turned in a solid 5-2 week. They swept the Rockies, split four games with the Cardinals, and won their first of three games with the Red Sox on Friday night.
Jared Triolo turned in a great week for Pittsburgh, with a pair of homers, two doubles, and a triple as he drove in five and led the team with 10 hits, slashing .455/.538/.909. Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds each had six hits as well, with McCutchen hitting a homer and two doubles and Reynolds hitting a homer and four doubles.
Paul Skenes continues to make his NL Cy Young case, with two starts and just two runs allowed (one earned), earning the win both times and striking out a team-high 13 batters over 13 innings. Carmen Mlodzinski went five innings between a start and a relief appearance, allowing one run and striking out nine, while Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, and Johan Oviedo also turned in solid outings. Isaac Mattson, Bubba Chandler, Kyle Nicolas, Colin Holderman, and Dauri Moreta all had scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
The Pirates finish up their road trip in Boston on Sunday before returning home to begin September. After an off day on Monday, they’ll welcome the Dodgers and Brewers for three games each through next weekend.
