Welcome to week 16 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (59-37); 4-4 this week; 98.3% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers had a bit of a strange week, as they played eight games in seven days, including a pair of doubleheaders. They got out of the week with a 4-4 record, winning four of five in St. Louis before being swept by the Pirates in Pittsburgh, as the team seemed to show a bit of fatigue to close out the first half.
Jake Bauers and Brice Turang both slugged a pair of homers this week, while Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz
added one each. Garrett Mitchell led the team with 10 hits, including three doubles, and Cooper Pratt added nine hits, including two doubles and a triple, driving in five.
Milwaukee’s pitching staff had a bit of a rough week overall, but there were still a few bright spots. Jacob Misiorowski looked strong after a slow start in St. Louis, finishing with seven innings of three-run ball, striking out 11. Bryse Wilson, Craig Yoho, Abner Uribe, Garrett Stallings, and Trevor Megill all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, totaling 14 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts, as Uribe and Megill each picked up a save.
The Brewers will return from the break with a nine-game homestand, starting with three games against the Marlins next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (54-42); 4-2 this week; 77.0% chance to make postseason
The Cubs took two of three from both the Orioles and Reds to close out a strong first half, as they sit five games behind the Brewers in the Central but currently hold the top Wild Card spot.
Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Carson Kelly, and Seiya Suzuki all slugged two homers for Chicago this week, and Suzuki also led the team with eight hits, adding two doubles for a .320/.346/.640 line. Michael Busch added seven hits, including three doubles, while Bregman led the team with nine RBIs.
Matthew Boyd made a pair of strong starts, earning two wins as he allowed four runs over 12 1/3 innings, striking out 10. Shota Imanaga and David Peterson both went five innings and allowed one run, with Imanaga striking out five and Peterson striking out two. Gavin Hollowell, Trent Thornton, and Jacob Webb combined for 8 2/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out seven as Thornton and Webb both picked up a pair of saves.
Chicago will start the second half of the season at Wrigley, as they host the Twins over the weekend.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (50-47); 4-2 this week; 41.4% chance to make postseason
The Pirates jump up in our rankings thanks to a sweep of the Brewers over the weekend. They lost two of three to the Braves to begin the week, but thanks to their sweep, they’ve pushed themselves back over .500 heading into the break.
Esmerlyn Valdez had a huge week, slugging four homers — including three across Saturday’s doubleheader — and driving in 10. Ryan O’Hearn had a three-homer game earlier in the week and finished with a team-high 12 RBIs this week, slashing .333/.440/.810. Henry Davis, Jake Mangum, Marcell Ozuna, and Bryan Reynolds each homered, and Brandon Lowe also collected eight hits.
Paul Skenes, who’s had a bit of a rough go lately, bounced back to pick up a pair of wins this week, totaling 11 1/3 innings with four runs allowed and 11 strikeouts. Jared Jones went six perfect innings in his start, striking out eight. Brandon Eisert, Mason Montgomery, Gregory Soto, and Yohan Ramírez combined for 8 1/3 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out six. Soto and Montgomery each picked up a save.
Pittsburgh begins the second half on the road, with a visit to Cleveland against the Guardians over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (50-45); 3-5 this week; 32.8% chance to make postseason
Like the Brewers, the Cardinals played eight games in seven days this week. They dropped four of five against Milwaukee to begin the week before taking two of three against the Braves in a trio of low-scoring affairs this weekend.
Jordan Walker led the offense with nine hits this week, slugging a pair of homers and a double while driving in seven and scoring eight runs. He also swiped a pair of bases. Six other players homered, though nobody else had more than five hits on the week.
Dustin May made a pair of starts, totaling 8 2/3 innings with two runs allowed and 11 strikeouts this week. Michael McGreevy went 6 1/3 innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts, while Matthew Liberatore worked six shutout frames with six strikeouts. Kyle Leahy went three innings with a pair of strikeouts in his start, and Gordon Graceffo and Riley O’Brien totaled nine scoreless innings for the bullpen, with Graceffo striking out six and O’Brien collecting a pair of saves.
St. Louis will head west out of the break, visiting the Diamondbacks in Phoenix over the weekend.
5. Cincinnati Reds (43-52); 2-4 this week; 0.9% chance to make postseason
The Reds continue to struggle, as they dropped two of three to both the Phillies and Cubs to fall to nine games below .500, well behind the Pirates at the bottom of the division.
JJ Bleday and Eugenio Suárez each slugged three homers this week, with Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart adding one each. Bleday also led the team with six RBIs, and he collected a steal. Spencer Steer led the team with eight hits, finishing the week with a .462 OBP.
Brady Singer worked 7 1/3 innings with one run allowed and five strikeouts, though he took a tough-luck loss in that one. Hunter Greene bounced back from a rough July 4 start to go seven scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in a winning performance. Tejay Antone and Emilio Pagán each had scoreless weeks, totaling three innings with four strikeouts.
Cincinnati will look to start the second half strong on the West Coast, as they’ll start by visiting the Rockies beginning Friday night.
