Welcome to the ninth week of our NL Central Power Rankings! We\u2019ll 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\u2019re obviously 100% accurate. Without further ado, let\u2019s rank some teams!<\/p>\n
1. Chicago Cubs (31-20); 5-1 this week; 96.8% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)<\/p>\n
The Cubs had another nice week as they\u2019re in a stretch against the bottom dwellers of the league. They swept the White Sox last week and took two of three against the Marlins to begin the week. They\u2019re now in Cincinnati for three games against the Reds.<\/p>\n
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, and Kyle Tucker all had huge weeks for the Cubs, picking up a combined 35 hits, including six homers, five doubles, and two triples, along with 26 RBIs, 24 runs scored, and eight steals. Talk about a four-headed monster. Nico Hoerner led the team with 10 hits, hitting .417\/.481\/.583 with four doubles, four RBIs, and eight runs scored.<\/p>\n
The pitching staff didn\u2019t look nearly as good, but Cade Horton, Colin Rea, and Jameson Taillon were all solid in their starts, with Taillon\u2019s start the best of those, going seven innings and allowing just one run. Ryan Pressly, out of the closer role for now, went three scoreless over three appearances, while Brad Keller was nearly perfect over 4 2\u20443 innings across four appearances.<\/p>\n
After wrapping up their road trip in Cincy this weekend, the Cubs return home to take on the Rockies and Reds this coming week.<\/p>\n
2. St. Louis Cardinals (28-23); 3-3 this week; 41.5% chance to make postseason<\/p>\n
The Cardinals faced some tough competition, but they managed to go 3-3 against the Royals and Tigers, taking two of three from Kansas City and dropping two of three against Detroit. They wrap up their six-game homestand against the Diamondbacks this weekend.<\/p>\n
The St. Louis offensive wasn\u2019t great this week, but there were still a few standouts. Brendan Donovan continues to have a nice season, as he hit .318\/.400\/.409 this week. Iv\u00e1n Herrera also had seven hits and drove in four runs. Four players picked up a homer each, including Alec Burleson, who hit .385\/.467\/.692 over 13 at-bats.<\/p>\n
Sonny Gray went six scoreless innings in his start, while Miles Mikolas picked up a pair of wins, allowing just one run over 12 innings while striking out eight. Matthew Liberatore got a no-decision, going six innings and allowing one run with five strikeouts. JoJo Romero went 3 1\u20443 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, and Ryan Helsley picked up a pair of saves despite allowing two runs in two innings.<\/p>\n
St. Louis hits the road beginning Monday as they\u2019ll return to interleague battles, taking on the Orioles and Rangers to wrap up May.<\/p>\n
3. Milwaukee Brewers (25-27); 4-3 this week; 19.8% chance to make postseason<\/p>\n