Welcome to week 6 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Chicago Cubs (22-12); 5-1 this week; 82.8% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Cubs had another strong week, winning five straight over the Padres and D-backs after dropping their series opener in San Diego on Monday night.
Moisés Ballesteros and Pete Crow-Armstrong each slugged a pair of homers for Chicago this week, though they certainly weren’t the Cubs’ best hitters. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki tied for the team lead with six hits, each adding a homer. Happ also led the team with seven runs scored, adding a pair of doubles and a triple, too.
Shota Imanaga had the best start of the week for Chicago, going seven scoreless with five strikeouts in his outing. For the bullpen, HOby Milner totaled 2 2/3 scoreless frames over three outings, striking out two and picking up a save. Jacob Webb and Ben Brown also picked up a save each.
Chicago now hosts the Reds for four games beginning Monday night before beginning a nine-game road trip this weekend, starting in Texas against the Rangers.
2. St. Louis Cardinals (20-14); 6-1 this week; 26.2% chance to make postseason
Before I go any further, I just want to say that I had a very difficult time ordering the bottom four in these rankings. I can see a case for having any of these teams in the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, or No. 5 spot. Based on the fact that the Cardinals swept the Pirates and the Pirates swept the Reds, though, I felt I must order those three teams in that order. That just left the Brewers to slot somewhere in the pack. Continuing on…
As I just mentioned, the Cards swept the Pirates in a four-game series to begin the week, and they then stretched that win streak to six with a pair of wins over the Dodgers before dropping Sunday’s series finale.
It was a big week on the power front for St. Louis, as Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, and JJ Wetherholt all had two homers apiece. Burleson and Wetherholt also added three doubles each, with Burleson and Walker leading the team with 11 hits on the week (and 11 RBIs each, too). Victor Scott and Walker each swiped a pair of bags, and Iván Herrera added three doubles and eight walks for a .469 OBP this week.
Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy turned in solid starts this week, as Pallante went six innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts, and McGreevy went six scoreless frames with three strikeouts. Riley O’Brien got two more saves, and George Soriano added a save of his own. Ryan Fernandez and Gordon Graceffo both had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, with Fernandez going two perfect innings with four strikeouts and Graceffo spanning four innings over three appearances.
St. Louis now welcomes the Brewers to twon for three games before they head west to take on the Padres and A’s over the next week.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (18-15); 4-2 this week; 41.4% chance to make postseason
The Brewers took two of three against both the D-backs and Nationals this week, moving back to three games above .500 by the end of the weekend.
Sal Frelick managed to lead the Brewers with two homers this week, though he had just five hits total. William Contreras led the offense with 11 hits on the week, including a homer and a double, as he also led the team with nine RBIs and seven runs scored. Tyler Black made the most of limited opportunities, going 7-for-13 with three doubles and seven RBIs in four games this week. Brice Turang added eight hits and seven runs over 17 at-bats.
Jacob Misiorowski went 5 1/3 no-hit innings in his start on Friday night, striking out eight and allowing just two walks. Logan Henderson took the loss on Sunday but was solid overall, striking out eight and allowing two runs on three hits and no walks. Shane Drohan, Jake Woodford, DL Hall, Easton McGee, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill all had solid weeks for Milwaukee’s bullpen, with Woodford and Uribe picking up a save apiece.
The Crew wraps up the road trip in St. Louis to begin the week before an off day on Thursday. They’ll then welcome the Yankees to Milwaukee for three games beginning on Friday.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (19-16); 3-4 this week; 60.1% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had an odd week, as they were swept by the Cardinals over four games before bouncing back to sweep the Reds this weekend, finishing their homestand with a 3-4 record.
Henry Davis picked up a pair of homers this week for the Bucs, with seven other players adding a homer each. Nick Gonzales led the team with 11 hits, though he had just one extra-base hit (a double), while rookie Konnor Griffin added 10 hits, including a homer, two doubles, and a triple, slashing .370/.433/.630 for the week. Ryan O’Hearn and Bryan Reynolds each had eight hits.
Braxton Ashcraft had a really rough start against St. Louis but bounced back nicely on Sunday against the Reds, spanning 7 2/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts on just 82 pitches. Mitch Keller also turned in a solid start, going seven innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. Wilber Dotel, Justin Lawrence, Mason Montgomery, Cam Sanders, and Gregory Soto had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, totaling 11 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts between them.
Pittsburgh now heads to Arizona and San Francisco, as they’ll take on the D-backs and Giants for three games each beginning Tuesday night in Phoenix.
5. Cincinnati Reds (20-14); 2-4 this week; 27.1% chance to make postseason
The Reds take this final spot mostly because they took a sweep at the hands of the Pirates, even though they’re still tied for second place in the division. Prior to that sweep, they took two of three from the Rockies to begin the week.
It wasn’t a great week for the Cincinnati offense, but Will Benson led the way with a pair of homers and a double. Nathaniel Lowe and Spencer Steer each had six hits, with a homer and two doubles apiece, while Spencer Steer led the team with seven hits, including a homer.
Chase Burns made a pair of solid starts, totaling 13 innings with two runs allowed and a team-high 16 strikeouts. Andrew Abbott picked up the other win in his start, going six quality innings with two runs allowed and five strikeouts. Graham Ashcraft and Sam Moll were the only real bright spots for the bullpen, as they totaled 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and no runs allowed this week.
The Reds now head to Chicago to face the Cubs for four games beginning Monday night. They then return home to host the Astros and Nationals beginning Friday.