Welcome to week 2 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (7-2); 4-2 this week; 56.3% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers stayed hot with two more series wins against interleague opponents this week, taking two of three from both the Rays and Royals to improve to 7-2 on the season.
Gary Sánchez slugged a pair of homers this week, while William Contreras and Christian Yelich tied for the team lead with six hits apiece. Garrett Mitchell had the best overall week, though, with five hits, including three doubles and a homer, driving
in eight runs, scoring a pair, and swiping a bag.
On the pitching side, Kyle Harrison started his Brewer tenure off strong, allowing three runs over 10 1/3 innings in his two starts and leading the team with 14 strikeouts. Chad Patrick also had a solid start, allowing no runs and striking out three as he scattered four hits and three walks. DL Hall and Ángel Zerpa both had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
The Brewers wrap up their road trip against the Boston Red Sox before heading home to take on their first NL opponent of the season, the Nationals, over the weekend.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (6-3); 5-1 this week; 55.0% chance to make postseason
Do I really think the Pirates are the second-best team in the NL Central? Honestly, I don’t know. After a rough start to the year against the Mets and a series-opening loss to the Reds on Monday, Pittsburgh has rattled off five consecutive wins. They took the final two of their series against the Reds before sweeping the Orioles over the weekend to improve to 6-3 on the year.
Oneil Cruz bounced back from his dismal opening series to pick up nine hits this week, including four homers, as he drove in 10 and scored seven. Ryan O’Hearn and Bryan Reynolds also slugged a pair of homers each, as O’Hearn drove in eight and Reynolds brought in four.
Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Carmen Mlodzinski, Paul Skenes, and Mitch Keller all had solid starts this week. Rather than singling any of them out, I’m going to pull all of their numbers together: 32 IP, 8 ER (2.25 ERA), 31 K. Not bad. For the bullpen, Isaac Mattson, Justin Lawrence, Dennis Santana, and José Urquidy all had scoreless weeks.
The Pirates have a pair of big tests up next, as they’ll host the Padres for three games before visiting the Cubs for a three-game set over the weekend.
3. Cincinnati Reds (6-3); 4-2 this week; 21.8% chance to make postseason
The Reds dropped two of three to the aforementioned Pirates to begin the week but bounced back with a sweep against the Rangers in Texas over the weekend.
Elly De La Cruz led the offense with seven hits, including a pair of homers, adding four RBIs, five runs, and a steal. Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson, Sal Stewart, and Eugenio Suárez also homered for Cincy, while Matt McLain added four hits.
Chase Burns looked great on the mound in his two starts, allowing just one run over 11 innings (0.82 ERA) with 16 strikeouts. Graham Ashcraft was strong from the bullpen, allowing one run over 4 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts, while Rhett Lowder turned in a strong start with six scoreless innings and four strikeouts. Sam Moll, Brock Burke, Jose Franco, Connor Phillips, and Tony Santillan were all scoreless for Cincinnati’s bullpen.
Cincinnati now heads to Miami to battle the Marlins for four games before returning home to host the Angels over the weekend.
4. Chicago Cubs (4-5); 3-3 this week; 43.9% chance to make postseason
Chicago split their six games this week, taking two of three at Wrigley against the Angels before dropping two of three in Cleveland over the weekend.
Ian Happ slugged a pair of homers to lead Chicago’s offense, giving him four already on the season. There were no other true standouts offensively, though Nico Hoerner did pick up six hits (.333 batting average), and catcher Miguel Amaya produced despite a small sample size (3-for-8 with a double and two RBIs).
Matthew Boyd had a solid start this week, allowing two runs (one earned) with a team-best 10 strikeouts in a winning performance. Edward Cabrera put together two scoreless starts spanning 11 2/3 innings, striking out nine, while Shota Imanaga allowed one run over five innings, and Jameson Taillon went 4 2/3 scoreless. With Cade Horton now shelved for the foreseeable future, the Cubs will need the rest of those arms to step up. Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia, Ethan Roberts, and Caleb Thielbar all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
The Cubs finish up their road trip against the Rays to begin the week before hosting the Pirates for the weekend.
5. St. Louis Cardinals (5-4); 3-3 this week; 6.5% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals took two of three against the Mets to get out to a 4-2 start on the season, but they dropped two of three over the weekend against the Tigers.
Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, and Ramón Urías all homered this week, while Iván Herrera led the squad with six hits on the week. JJ Wetherholt added five hits and a steal.
Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore had the best starts for St. Louis this week. Pallante went five scoreless innings with three strikeouts, while Liberatore allowed one run with a pair of strikeouts over six frames. Riley O’Brien picked up a pair of saves over three scoreless innings, and Gordon Graceffo, JoJo Romero, and Ryne Stanek also had scoreless weeks for the Cardinals’ bullpen.
The Cardinals continue their road trip in Washington against the Nationals before heading back home to face the Red Sox beginning Friday evening.
