Welcome to week 19 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (69-42); 3-3 this week; 99.8% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers had a mediocre week, especially given their competition, as they dropped a series to the Giants in San Francisco before taking two of three against MLB’s worst team, the Angels.
Jake Bauers slugged a pair of homers and a triple as part of a seven-hit week, slashing .389/.450/.833. Brice Turang led the team with eight hits, including a homer, and Jackson Chourio added seven hits of his own.
Jacob Misiorowski,
Shane Drohan, and Brandon Sproat all turned in quality starts, but only Drohan had a win to show for it as he allowed two runs and struck out seven over six innings on Friday night. Logan Henderson came one out shy of a quality start, spanning 5 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win, while Robert Gasser went five innings with one run allowed. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe led the bullpen, combining for 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Milwaukee returns home for a seven-game homestand beginning later tonight, as they’ll take on the Pirates for four games before hosting the Twins for a three-game set.
2. Chicago Cubs (63-49); 4-3 this week; 91.1% chance to make postseason
The Cubs took three of four from the rival Cardinals in St. Louis to begin the week but they dropped two of three to the Yankees at Wrigley over the weekend.
Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman both had huge weeks, as Hoerner picked up 11 hits, including two homers, driving in seven and swiping three bases. Bregman had 12 hits, including six doubles and a homer, scoring a team-high eight runs. Pete Crow-Armstrong added a homer, two doubles, and a triple, while Seiya Suzuki had nine hits, including three doubles.
All five starters had solid weeks for the Cubs, as Matthew Boyd, Javier Assad, Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea, and David Peterson combined for 42 innings with 10 runs allowed (nine earned) for a 1.93 ERA with 37 strikeouts. Aaron Civale, Tyler Ferguson, Antoine Kelly, Ryan Rolison, and Jacob Webb combined for 13 2/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 13.
Chicago now hosts the Dodgers for three games, as they’ll be the first team to face Tarik Skubal in an L.A. uniform. They then welcome the Blue Jays for a makeup game on Thursday afternoon before visiting the Royals over the weekend.
3. Cincinnati Reds (53-58); 4-3 this week; 2.2% chance to make postseason
The Reds had another strong week, as they’ve now moved into the No. 3 spot in these rankings. After going 6-3 in their first three series out of the break, they enjoyed another solid week, going 4-3, including three wins in four games against the Pirates.
Sal Stewart slugged three homers to lead the offense this week, totaling seven hits and nine RBIs. JJ Bleday added two homers, while Ke’Bryan Hayes, Tyler Stephenson, and Jose Trevino added a homer each. Nathaniel Lowe led the team with nine hits, including four doubles.
Chase Burns made a pair of solid starts, allowing just two earned runs (though six runs total) with 13 strikeouts across 11 innings. Rhett Lowder also turned in a quality start, allowing two runs and striking out five across six frames. Brock Burke, Jose Franco, Julian Garcia, and Emilio Pagán totaled 14 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 12.
Cincinnati gets an off day on Monday before hosting the A’s for three games. They then head to the nation’s capital to take on the Nationals over the weekend.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (56-57); 2-5 this week; 22.0% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had another rough week, dropping two of three at home against the D-backs before losing three of four to the Reds, hence Cincinnati’s jump ahead of them in these rankings.
Brandon Lowe led the Bucs offensively with 11 hits, including three doubles and a pair of homers, driving in six. Jake Mangum and Bryan Reynolds both added homers, with Mangum totaling eight hits and Reynolds finishing with seven hits. Nick Gonzales continues to hit above .300 on the season, as he added nine more hits this week.
Braxton Aschraft turned in the best start of the week for Pittsburgh, going five frames with one run allowed and five strikeouts in a win. Mason Montgomery picked up the only other win with three relief appearances, spanning 2 2/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Brandon Eisert, Antwone Kelly, Carmen Mlodzinski, Noah Murdock, and Yohan Ramírez combined for 20 scoreless innings this week, striking out 26.
Pittsburgh now heads to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers for four games before returning home for a quick three-game set with the Mets.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (55-57); 2-5 this week; 7.7% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals continue to struggle, as they’ve now fallen below .500 after dropping three of four to the Cubs and two of three to the Blue Jays this week.
José Fermín and JJ Wetherholt each slugged a homer in what was a disappointing week overall for the St. Louis offense. Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker tied for the team lead with seven hits each, though the best batting average of the week belongs to Bryan Torres, who went 5-for-12 with a double and two RBIs.
Matthew Liberatore totaled 9 2/3 innings across a pair of starts, allowing three runs and striking out 12. Quinn Mathews went five innings with two runs allowed and three strikeouts, Andre Pallante went 6 1/3 innings with two runs allowed and three strikeouts, and Kyle Leahy went six innings with one run allowed and three strikeouts. Dustin May had the best start of the week, spanning five scoreless innings with three strikeouts, while Justin Bruihl, Riley O’Brien, and Ryne Stanek combined for 9 1/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts for the bullpen.
St. Louis will look to bounce back against the Yankees, as they visit New York for three games beginning Monday. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll welcome the Rockies to town over the weekend.
