Welcome to week 17 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (62-37); 3-0 this week; 99.2% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers swept the Marlins coming out of the break, as they completed a trio of come-from-behind victories with a pair of walk-offs.
William Contreras had the biggest hit of the weekend, as he launched a three-run walk-off homer in Sunday’s series finale, sending Milwaukee home with a 3-1 victory. Garrett Mitchell also had a big weekend, leading the team with five hits and driving in the winning run in Friday night’s walk-off win. Joey Ortiz had the only other homer, while the team combined for nine steals in 10 attempts, including a pair from Christian Yelich, Ortiz, and Jackson Chourio.
Shane Drohan had the longest start at six innings, allowing three runs and striking out nine in a winning performance. Robert Gasser and Logan Henderson had nearly identical lines in their starts, as each went five innings with one run allowed on three hits and no walks. The only difference was that Henderson struck out four while Gasser struck out five. Craig Yoho was the only bullpen arm to allow a run (and even he picked up his first career win with a shutout 10th inning on Friday), as Grant Anderson, Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick, and Abner Uribe combined for 10 shutout innings and 14 strikeouts.
Milwaukee stays home this week as they’ll host the Mets and Rockies through next weekend.
2. Chicago Cubs (56-43); 2-1 this week; 79.6% chance to make postseason
The Cubs dropped their series opener against the Twins on Friday but bounced back to win the series with a pair of wins on Saturday and Sunday.
Alex Bregman and Michael Busch both homered this weekend, while Nico Hoerner led the team with eight hits in just 13 at-bats, driving in five. Pedro Ramírez and Seiya Suzuki added four hits each, with both picking up a pair of doubles.
Matthew Boyd worked six strong innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts, while Shota Imanaga turned in the best performance of the series with seven shutout frames, striking out four. Tyler Ferguson, Gavin Hollowell, Ryan Rolison, Trent Thornton, and Jacob Webb combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Chicago wraps up the homestand to begin the week with three games against the Tigers. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll visit the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48); 2-1 this week; 47.7% chance to make postseason
The Pirates visited Cleveland this weekend, taking two of three as they split a doubleheader on Saturday (after Friday’s game was canceled due to air quality) and won 7-1 on Sunday.
Esmerlyn Valdez continues to swing the bat like Babe Ruth, as he picked up three hits this week, all of the extra-base variety with a pair of homers and a double, driving home five. Nick Gonzales and Jacob Gonzalez both homered as well, with four other players adding three hits apiece.
Jared Jones and Paul Skenes both made strong starts, with Jones going five innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts and Skenes allowing one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Mason Montgomery also worked as an opener for Khristian Curtis, with Curtis going five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Isaac Mattson, Carmen Mlodzinski, Montgomery, Gregory Soto, and Yohan Ramírez all had scoreless weekends for the bullpen.
The Pirates now head to New York to face the Yankees before they return home to host the Cubs over the weekend.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (51-47); 1-2 this week; 27.3% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals dropped two of three in Phoenix this weekend, winning Friday’s series opener against the D-backs but dropping both Saturday and Sunday’s games.
Jimmy Crooks and JJ Wetherholt both homered this week for the Cards, with Alec Burleson leading the team with six hits and scoring four runs. José Fermín added four hits, and Jordan Walker picked up three hits, including a double.
Michael McGreevy had the lone quality start of the weekend, going 6 1/3 innings with two runs allowed (one earned) and five strikeouts. Justin Bruihl, Riley O’Brien, and Matt Svanson had a scoreless inning each in relief.
St. Louis will stay out west with a visit to the Angels to begin the week. They’ll then return home to host the D-backs for a makeup game on Thursday before welcoming the Reds to town.
5. Cincinnati Reds (45-53); 2-1 this week; 1.2% chance to make postseason
The Reds visited Colorado this weekend, taking two of three against the Rockies.
It was a homer-heavy weekend in the high altitude of Denver, as the Reds had 10 homers as a team, including a pair from Spencer Steer, Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino. Elly De La Cruz added a homer and led the team with six hits, while Sal Stewart also homered and led the team with five RBIs.
Brady Singer and Hunter Greene both earned wins with quality starts, as Singer went seven innings with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, and Greene went six innings with three runs allowed and seven strikeouts. Tejay Antone, Brock Burke, Julian Garcia, and Pierce Johnson combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the bullpen.
Cincinnati will continue the road trip with visits to Seattle and St. Louis through the coming weekend.
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