Welcome to the 24th 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 (87-55); 3-3 this week; >99.9% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Brewers took two of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto before dropping two of three to the Phillies at home. Not a bad .500 week, considering those are two of the other top teams in baseball.
Milwaukee then went into Pittsburgh and took Friday night’s series opener from the Pirates.
Brice Turang, fresh off an NL Player of the Month selection, continues to rake. He picked up a team-high eight hits this week, including two homers, a double, and a triple as he slashed .381/.458/.810. Five other players added a homer each, including William Contreras, who tied Turang for the team lead with eight hits. Sal Frelick also went 7-for-19 with four runs, two RBIs, and a steal.
Quinn Priester’s unprecedented streak of wins continues, as he made a pair of solid starts this week, allowing three runs (two earned) over 13 innings (1.38 ERA) with nine strikeouts. Freddy Peralta also went five scoreless with eight strikeouts as he stretched his scoreless streak to 29 innings. Jared Koenig worked four scoreless innings from the bullpen with eight strikeouts, while Rob Zastryzny and Aaron Ashby also had scoreless weeks.
After wrapping up in Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Brewers will continue their road trip with three games against the Rangers in Texas. They’ll then return home for their penultimate homestand against the Cardinals and Angels next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (81-60); 4-2 this week; >99.9% chance to make postseason
The Cubs took two of three from both the Rockies and Braves this week before winning Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field against the Nationals.
Ian Happ, who has had a down year overall, had a great week, leading the team with nine hits, including three homers and a double, driving in seven runs and scoring eight times. Kyle Tucker, who was ice cold for the past month-plus, also had another solid week, picking up seven hits, including a homer and two doubles.
Cade Horton remains in contention for NL Rookie of the Year, as he went five scoreless innings with a team-high six strikeouts. Aaron Civale, who, if you’ll recall, didn’t like that he was sent to the bullpen for Milwaukee, went three scoreless innings from the ‘pen in his first appearance with the Cubs, striking out four. Andrew Kittredge and Brad Keller also had scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
The Cubs wrap up their homestand against the Nationals this weekend before they face the Braves for the second time this month, this time on the road. They’ll then return home for three games against the Rays next weekend.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (70-72); 3-3 this week; 0.6% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals remain in our No. 3 spot, as a large gap remains between the top two teams and the rest of the Central at this point. St. Louis took two of three against the Reds last weekend before starting September with another series win against the A’s. They dropped Friday’s series opener with the Giants.
Iván Herrera slugged a trio of homers this week for the Cardinals’ offense, driving in five and scoring five runs himself. Willson Contreras also homered and totaled five hits on the week, while Lars Nootbaar led the team with eight hits, including a double and a triple.
Matthew Liberatore worked 5 1/3 scoreless frames in his lone start this week, striking out a team-high seven. Miles Mikolas went six innings with only one run allowed to pick up a win, while JoJo Romero and Matt Svanson both worked scoreless bullpen weeks, with Romero saving two games.
After the Giants leave town on Sunday, the Cardinals will head west to take on the Mariners in Seattle before an off day on Thursday. They then wrap up the road trip in Milwaukee next weekend.
4. Cincinnati Reds (70-71); 2-4 this week; 4.5% chance to make postseason
The Reds continue to struggle as they fall out of playoff contention. They dropped two of three to the Cardinals last weekend and did the same against the Blue Jays to begin September. They then lost Friday night’s series opener against the Mets as they fell under .500.
Austin Hays and Matt McLain each slugged a pair of homers, and TJ Friedl added a homer himself. Both McLain and Friedl had eight hits, with McLain slashing .400/.500/.800 for a team-best 1.300 OPS. Ke’Bryan Hayes led the team with nine hits, though only one was an extra base-hit (a double), driving in five runs.
Andrew Abbott, who was very much in NL Cy Young contention just a month or two ago, continues to struggle, as he went 9 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs (6.52 ERA) over his two starts this week, both losses. Hunter Greene went 6 1/3 innings with one run allowed and seven strikeouts, while Tony Santillan, Reiver Sanmartin, and Yosver Zulueta didn’t allow any earned runs (though Sanmartin allowed one unearned run and Zulueta allowed a pair).
Cincinnati finishes up the homestand with the Mets this weekend before a long nine-game road trip that will see them take on the Padres, A’s, and Cardinals begins on Monday.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (64-78); 4-2 this week; <0.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates have played really good baseball for the last few weeks, as they’re close to passing the Reds and Cardinals in these rankings. They took two of three against the Red Sox last weekend before sweeping the Dodgers in Pittsburgh this week. They then dropped Friday’s series opener to the Brewers.
Alexander Canario, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, and Bryan Reynolds each homered this week, while Nick Gonzales led the team with seven hits, slashing .304/.385/.391 with a pair of doubles, three RBIs, and five runs. Tommy Pham added six hits, and Spencer Horwitz picked up five hits, including a pair of doubles for each.
Johan Oviedo looks good in his return from injury, working 10 innings across two starts with three runs allowed (two earned) with 10 strikeouts. Paul Skenes went six scoreless innings, striking out eight Dodgers in the process. Braxton Ashcraft also worked three scoreless innings against the Dodgers with four strikeouts. Kyle Nicolas and Evan Sisk each worked a scoreless week from the bullpen.
After the Brewers leave town on Sunday, the Pirates will head to Baltimore to take on the Orioles before a visit with the Nationals next weekend.
