The Cubs are rising to the top of the National League, as they enter play Tuesday with the third-best record in the National League and a season-high eight games over .500. The only two teams above the Cubs are fellow division rivals St. Louis and Pittsburgh. But the Cubs face a true test this week with a four-game set against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field and a three-game series in St. Louis. Though, Kris Bryant and Co. are off to a good start, taking down Clayton Kershaw Monday night.
With that comes another week of MLB Power Rankings from CSNChicago.com's Tony Andracki and JJ Stankevitz. Stay tuned for updated rankings every Monday throughout the 2015 campaign. Here's where we're at so far: Preseason rankings | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10
| Rank | Team |
Last Week | Comment |
| 1 | 1 |
I think the whole baseball world is curious to see what their punishment will be for the hacking scandal. This may ruin the Cardinals' reputation for a generation. |
|
| 2 | 3 |
Lost in their All-Star voting chaos is they’ve consistently been the American League’s best team for nearly the entire season so far. |
|
| 3 | 9 |
Impressive job by this young team to respond very well after slipping a bit earlier this month. |
|
| 4 | 6 |
So many people have been talking about Gerrit Cole (1.78 ERA) and A.J. Burnett (2.05 ERA), but Francisco Liriano (3.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 10.7 K/9) is having a heck of a season. |
|
| 5 | 2 |
Who would've thought Andre Ethier would be this season's savior? |
|
| 6 | 7 |
No Maddon, no Friedman, no Zobrist, no problem, apparently. And Matt Moore is nearing a return from Tommy John. |
|
| 7 | 8 |
If the sky Monday night was any indication, Hell is freezing over and the Cubs are a legit contender. |
|
| 8 | 11 |
They've won just four of their last 11...and that includes a three-game winning streak in there. |
|
| 9 | 6 |
Alex Rodriguez isn’t just pulling baseball’s greatest troll job, he’s also a big reason (.282/.384/.524, 14 HR) why the Yankees are right in the thick of the AL East race. |
|
| 10 | 5 |
Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and Jose Bautista have been worth nearly 10 combined WAR. That’ll work. |
|
| 11 | 16 |
Lost in A-Rod’s 3,000th hit and Toronto’s home run barrage are these guys, who are playing as good of baseball as anyone in the month of June. |
|
| 12 | 13 |
Yeah, we all know Bryce Harper is amazing. But what about Yunel Escobar? He's hitting .331 with an .801 OPS. |
|
| 13 | 10 |
Six games over .500 but only a +8 run differential. Hmmm. |
|
| 14 | 14 |
Not exactly a good sign to lose a series to the White Sox after handing them their eighth straight defeat on Friday. |
|
| 15 | 17 |
Jered Weaver’s fastball is approaching Mark Buehrle levels and he just hit the disabled list. |
|
| 16 | 12 |
J.D. and Victor Martinez combined for four home runs on Sunday, though Victor hitting one was just as big an accomplishment as J.D. hitting three. |
|
| 17 | 15 |
Will they even be in contention by the time David Wright returns from his mysterious back injury? |
|
| 18 | 18 |
Addison Reed sent down the minors? Yikess. |
|
| 19 | 21 |
With Freddie Freeman's health is question, the Braves are done for. |
|
| 20 | 22 |
This Pete Rose news is not good, but the silver lining is: Nobody's talking about how much the Reds suck right now. |
|
| 21 | 19 |
This may be the most disappointing season in Padres history. |
|
| 22 | 20 | The only thing that would’ve made their 17-0 loss to the Cubs last week more fitting were if it came on Browns appreciation night. | |
| 23 | 24 |
Mark Trumbo hit his first home run with Seattle over the weekend, which is good! Except he’s still hitting below the Mendoza Line. |
|
| 24 | 27 |
Plus-35 run differential aided by a 14-run win over San Diego last week. |
|
| 25 | 28 |
Can we agree to not call this Pablo Sandoval business Instagate? How about Insta-groan? |
|
| 26 | 23 |
Of course, right when Carlos Gonzalez looks like the CarGo of old, he gets hurt. |
|
| 27 | 26 |
Really curious to see how they handle Jose Fernandez when he returns during the midst of a lost season in South Beach. |
|
| 28 | 25 |
Finally started to right the ship with a series win over Texas, but offense continues to slip and hasn’t shown many signs of pulling out of tailspin. |
|
| 29 | 29 |
Rotation is last in the majors with 5.08 ERA. Yes, even behind the Rockies and Red Sox. |
|
| 30 | 30 |
Maybe they want to draft the first female player and then put her immediately in the big leagues? She can't be worse than half this roster and it would prove the Phils are, in fact, going younger. |