Welcome to week 11 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (40-23); 5-2 this week; 93.8% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs)
The Brewers started the week with a bang, winning their first two games against the Giants by a combined score of 24-5. After a disappointing pair of losses to finish up that series, the team went into Denver and swept the Rockies on the road for just the third time ever.
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For a team that ranked last in the league in homers for most of the season, the Brewers had a big week offensively, totaling 10 homers, including two each from Jake Bauers, Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, and the usually light-hitting David Hamilton. Turang and Chourio tied for the team lead with 11 hits, as Chourio added four doubles and Turang added a pair of steals. Garrett Mitchell, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich also had productive weeks, and Sal Frelick and Luis Rengifo both drove home five.
Chad Patrick was quietly fantastic for the bullpen, totaling 6 2/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts across three appearances. Jacob Misiorowski allowed an unearned run and struck out eight over seven strong innings, while Kyle Harrison allowed a solo homer but struck out 12 in just 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan were also solid.
Milwaukee wraps up the road trip in Las Vegas against the A’s this week before an off day on Thursday. They’ll then return home to host the Phillies over the weekend.
2. St. Louis Cardinals (35-28); 4-2 this week; 38.7% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals went 4-2 this week, dropping two of three at home against the Rangers but bouncing back to sweep the Reds over the weekend.
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Six different players homered for St. Louis this week, led by Jordan Walker, who had a team-high 11 hits, three doubles, and three steals. Alec Burleson had nine hits, including a homer and three doubles, while José Fermín added six hits in just 16 at-bats (.375 average).
Andre Pallante had the best start of the week for St. Louis, going 5 2/3 innings with one run allowed and five strikeouts in a win. Michael McGreevy made a pair of solid starts, allowing two runs over six innings in both games, striking out six total. Justin Bruihl, Hunter Dobbins, Gordon Graceffo, and Ryne Stanek all had scoreless weeks for the bullpen, as Dobbins led the way with a five-inning shutout appearance, striking out six to pick up the win.
After an off day on Monday, St. Louis heads on the road to visit the Mets and Twins for three games apiece.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (34-32); 2-4 this week; 49.4% chance to make postseason
The Pirates took two of three in Houston against the Astros, but failed to win the rest of the week as they were swept by the Braves over the weekend.
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Seven players had one homer each for the Pirates, led by Nick Gonzales, who had nine hits, including a homer, two doubles, five RBIs, and seven runs. Jake Mangum went 6-for-13 (.462 average) with three steals, while Oneil Cruz homered and swiped a pair of bases.
Jared Jones had a great outing for the Bucs, going five scoreless innings with four strikeouts to pick up the win. Not much else to write home about on the pitching side, though Evan Sisk, Wilber Dotel, and Brandan Bidois combined for 7 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts out of the bullpen.
Pittsburgh returns home to host the Dodgers and Marlins for three games each after an off day on Monday.
4. Chicago Cubs (34-32); 2-4 this week; 47.2% chance to make postseason
The Cubs dropped both series in Wrigley this week, losing two of three to both the A’s and Giants.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong had a huge week, slugging four homers as part of 11 total hits, adding two steals. Seiya Suzuki slugged a pair of homers, while Ian Happ added a homer, a triple, and three doubles. Michael Busch also picked up six hits, including a double and a triple.
Ben Brown made the best start of the week for Chicago, going 5 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts, while Javier Assad starred in a 6 1/3-inning relief appearance, allowing no runs with five strikeouts. Ryan Rolison collected a pair of wins in relief, striking out five across three frames, and Jacob Webb totaled 3 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball across three appearances.
The Cubs now take a trip west, as they’ll visit the Rockies for three games before going to San Francisco for three games against the Giants.
5. Cincinnati Reds (31-33); 1-5 this week; 6.8% chance to make postseason
The Reds have fallen off after a strong start, losing five of six this week, including a 1-2 series at home against the Royals and a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals in St. Louis.
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Matt McLain led Cincinnati’s offense with three homers this week, and Spencer Steer added a pair. Blake Dunn led the team with nine hits, including a homer and a double. JJ Bleday, Will Benson, and Tyler Stephenson also added a homer apiece.
Rhett Lowder went three scoreless with four strikeouts in his start, though he walked five. Chase Burns continues to rack up the strikeouts, punching out nine over six innings with two runs allowed. Zach McCambley, Caleb Ferguson, Brock Burke, and Tejay Antone combined for 13 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 15 for the bullpen.
Cincinnati will look to bounce back against the Padres this week, as they’ll head to San Diego for three games beginning Monday night. After an off day on Thursday, they’ll host the D-backs for three games over the weekend.
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