Welcome to week 10 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (35-21); 5-1 this week; 86.5% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers kept it rolling with a 5-1 week, including a sweep of the rival Cardinals and a 2-1 series win over their former division mates in Houston.
Jake Bauers slugged a pair of homers this week, while Jackson Chourio, David Hamilton(!), Garrett Mitchell, and Christian Yelich added one apiece. Yelich slashed .292/.346/.458 for the week, while Andrew Vaughn went 7-for-14 with three doubles.
Jacob Misiorowski had another great week to wrap up a great month, as he made a pair of starts with 20 strikeouts and one run allowed over 14 innings (0.64 ERA) in wins over the Cards and Astros. Aaron Ashby picked up another win with five scoreless innings in relief across three appearances, while Trevor Megill went a perfect 3-for-3 in save chances across four innings this week. Kyle Harrison went six scoreless innings to pitch up a win, while Abner Uribe, DL Hall, Grant Anderson, and Shane Drohan added scoreless weeks for the bullpen.
The Crew now returns home to host the Giants and former friend Willy Adames for four games before a road trip takes them to Colorado this weekend.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28); 5-2 this week; 55.6% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had a strong week, splitting four games with the Cubs before sweeping the Twins at home for a 5-2 week.
Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, and Bryan Reynolds each slugged a pair of homers this week, with seven players adding one homer each. Reynolds also led the team with 11 hits, adding four doubles as he hit .478/.581/.913. Horwitz had 10 hits to hit .370 for the week, and Cruz, Nick Gonzales, and Brandon Lowe each had seven hits.
Carmen Mlodzinski and Paul Skenes both had solid starts this week, as Mlodzinski went five innings with one run allowed and Skenes went 5 1/3 innings with three runs allowed (just one earned), striking out 10. Braxton Ashcraft picked up a pair of wins as he totaled 12 1/3 innings with three runs allowed and 16 strikeouts. Gregory Soto wetn 2-for-2 in save chances and got a win in his three appearances, while Wilber Dotel, Cam Sanders, Dennis Santana, and Evan Sisk combined for 12 2/3 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts out of the bullpen.
Pittsburgh gets the day off on Monday before a road trip takes them to visit the Astros and Braves this week.
3. St. Louis Cardinals (31-26); 2-4 this week; 25.7% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals were swept in Milwaukee this week but bounced back to take two of three from the Cubs over the weekend, keeping them above Chicago in these rankings.
Iván Herrera, Thomas Saggese, and Nelson Velázquez all homered for St. Louis this week, while JJ Wetherholt led the team with eight hits, including a pair of doubles. Wetherholt and Masyn Winn each swiped a base, too.
Matthew Liberatore totaled 10 1/3 innings with a team-high 14 strikeouts across two starts this week, going 1-1 in those outings. Dustin May put together a solid seven innings with nine strikeouts, taking a no-hitter into the eighth against Milwaukee but ultimately taking a tough-luck loss as the Brewers scored two (one earned) in that inning. Hunter Dobbins and Riley O’Brien each collected a save, while Justin Bruihl and JoJo Romero were the only scoreless arms for the bullpen.
The Cardinals continue their homestand this week with three games against the Rangers and three games against the Reds.
4. Chicago Cubs (32-28); 3-4 this week; 51.2% chance to make postseason
The Cubs had another rough week against NL Central foes, splitting four games with the Pirates and losing two of three against the Cardinals.
Ian Happ led the offense with three homers and 10 hits this week, while Alex Bregman also had 10 hits, including a homer. Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong both homered with nine hits each, and Seiya Suzuki and Nico Hoerner had seven hits each.
Ben Brown led the rotation with a pair of solid starts, going 13 innings with two runs allowed (1.38 ERA) and 13 strikeouts. For the bullpen, Jacob Webb and Caleb Thielbar both had scoreless weeks, totaling five innings with nine strikeouts between them.
Chicago now heads back to Wrigley, where they’ll host the A’s and Giants for three games each after an off day Monday.
5. Cincinnati Reds (30-28); 3-3 this week; 14.0% chance to make postseason
The Reds had a .500 week against two NL East teams, taking two of three against the Mets in New York before dropping two of three to the Braves in Cincinnati over the weekend.
JJ Bleday led the week for Cincinnati’s offense, slugging three homers and two doubles as part of a 10-hit week, slashing .417/.481/.875 with six RBIs, Nathaniel Lowe, Tyler Stephenson, and Eugenio Suárez each homered, and Sal Stewart picked up seven hits.
Nick Lodolo went 2-0 with 11 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings this week, allowing four runs (2.84 ERA). Chase Burns went 5 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and two runs allowed in a winning effort, while Tejay Antone, Graham Ashcraft, Caleb Ferguson, Pierce Johnson, and Sam Moll combined for 9 1/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts from the bullpen.
Cincinnati now hosts the Royals for three games before heading to St. Louis to face the Cardinals.
