Welcome to the return of our NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (3-0); 3-0 this week; 98.8% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Brewers started the season off with a bang, sweeping the White Sox with two convincing wins on Thursday and Saturday before a late comeback victory in Sunday’s series finale.
Jake Bauers, Sal Frelick, Gary Sánchez, and Christian Yelich all homered in their series this weekend, headlined by Yelich’s three-run blast that put the Brewers ahead in the aforementioned series finale. Yelich and Brice Turang tied for the team
lead with six hits in the series, while Joey Ortiz also got off to a strong start with five hits and a pair of steals.
On the pitching side, Jacob Misiorowski couldn’t have had a much better Opening Day, allowing a leadoff homer but nothing else as he struck out 11 in just five innings. Aaron Ashby went 2 2/3 innings across two relief appearances, striking out six. Chad Patrick also made a solid-albeit-shaky start on Saturday, allowing just one run over 4 1/3 innings. Trevor Megill picked up the lone save in Sunday’s game, striking out a pair in his season debut.
The Brewers wrap up the homestand with three games against the Tampa Bay Rays to begin the week before hitting the road starting Friday, where they’ll face two more interleague opponents in the Royals and Red Sox.
2. Chicago Cubs (1-2); 1-2 this week; 54.0% chance to make postseason
The Cubs got off to a disappointing start, dropping two of three to the NL East basement-dwelling Nationals at Wrigley Field over the weekend.
Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong are two of the lone bright spots offensively, as they’re tied for the team lead with four hits apiece. PCA also has a pair of steals, while Alex Bregman and Ian Happ have flashed their power strokes with a pair of homers each.
Cade Horton picked up Chicago’s lone win on Saturday, allowing two runs and striking out four across 6 1/3 innings. Phil Maton was Chicago’s best pitcher in relief, going 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts in two appearances. Daniel Palencia, Caleb Thielbar, and Hunter Harvey also added scoreless innings this weekend.
Chicago now welcomes the Angels to town for three games before a road trip takes them to visit the Guardians and Rays.
3. Cincinnati Reds (2-1); 2-1 this week; 40.9% chance to make postseason
The Reds got out to a solid start, winning against the Red Sox on Saturday and Sunday after losing on Opening Day.
Sal Stewart had a great start to the year, as he’s 7-for-10 with three doubles and a homer thus far. Matt McLain is 4-for-10 with a double, while Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez have also added homers.
Andrew Abbott, who started in the only game Cincinnati has lost, ironically had the best start thus far, allowing no runs with four strikeouts over six frames on Thursday. Rhett Lowder turned in a solid performance in his start, allowing two runs over five innings with five strikeouts. Brock Burke, Tony Santillan, and Sam Moll all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
Cincinnati now plays host to the Pirates before heading to Texas to take on the Rangers over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (2-1); 2-1 this week; 3.1% chance to make postseason
Do I really believe the Cardinals are better than the Pirates? I don’t think so. But this is power rankings, and the Cardinals definitely had a better start to the season than Pittsburgh. St. Louis took two of three from the Rays to begin the season, in a trio of high-scoring affairs (the Cardinals were ultimately outscored 23-22).
Victor Scott II led the offense with five hits this weekend, also swiping a pair of bases. Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman, and Pedro Pagés all homered for St. Louis’ offense, while Walker added a pair of doubles.
Despite the high-scoring matchups, Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore both turned in great starts in the Cardinals’ victories. McGreevy went six scoreless innings with only two walks allowed and five strikeouts, while Liberatore allowed one run on seven hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts over five innings. Ryne Stanek got a save but also blew a save, while JoJo Romero, George Soriano, and Riley O’Brien all had scoreless weeks from the ‘pen.
The Cardinals stay home for another series as they’ll welcome the Mets to begin this week before heading to Detroit to take on the Tigers for the weekend.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (1-2); 1-2 this week; 20.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates didn’t get off on the right foot this weekend, dropping two of three to the Mets in a series that started with some terrible defense backing up Paul Skenes (who failed to make it out of the first inning as a result).
While the Pirates only picked up one win, the new offensive additions in Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe got off to great starts. O’Hearn led the offense with six hits, including a homer, while Lowe added five hits, including a trio of homers and four RBIs. Nick Gonzales added four hits, and Bryan Reynolds had three hits.
Mitch Keller had the best start of the weekend, going six scoreless innings with three strikeouts in Saturday’s loss. Gregory Soto, Dennis Santana, and Yohan Ramírez all had scoreless weekends from the bullpen, with José Urquidy picking up the lone save on Sunday.
The Pirates visit the Reds next before heading home for their home opener against the Orioles over the weekend.
