MLB Power Rankings: Cubs, Tigers out to prove that the Central divisions aren’t to be forgotten

So far this season, we’ve talked a lot about the Wests, specifically my belief in the Texas Rangers on the American League side and how great the NL West — sans Rockies — has looked thus far. The Easts always get plenty of virtual ink with the Yankees and Red Sox as prominent contenders on the AL side along with the interest in the Mets, Braves and Phillies in the National League right now. 

How about so-called flyover country, though? As a lifelong resident and card-carrying fan of the Central divisions, we’re going to send a little love in that direction this time around. Said love will be sent to the Wizard of Oz connection (Detroit has Lions and Tigers while Chicago has two types of Bears: Adult and cub). 

On the AL side, the Tigers started the season by losing three games in Los Angeles to the Dodgers, but they’ve been excellent since. They’ve been either tied for first or alone in first place for the entirety of April. They are 8-2 against fellow AL Central teams and getting some great work on the mound from the likes of Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty, Jackson Jobe, pretty much the entire bullpen and, of course, reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. And on the offensive side, it looks like Spencer Torkelson is settling in as a monster middle-order power presence. 

They have the second-best run differential in what appears to be a wide-open American League and I strongly believe they have staying power. 

Over in the NL, the Cubs have the best run differential in baseball, flexing their offensive muscles to the tune of 6.04 runs per game (tops in the majors). They sit in first place in the NL Central by one game despite the best efforts of what has been a horrible bullpen to this point. 

On top of the good numbers, the Cubs’ schedule has been ridiculous. Checking strength of schedule this early is probably a fool’s errand — the Cubs have the hardest schedule, statistically, by a mile — but we can eyeball it, right? The Cubs have played the Diamondbacks seven times, Padres six times and Dodgers five times along with three-game series against the Rangers and Athletics. That’s it. The only team with a losing record is the A’s and that isn’t by much — plus, those were road games. It isn’t easy to be 14-10 and still have an opponents’ record of well over .600 this early in the season, mathematically, but that’s the reality. Further, this coming week, the Cubs play the Dodgers and Phillies. It’s just been an outrageous schedule this April. 

And yet, the Cubs are riding high. Formulas that combine run differential with strength of schedule have the Cubs as the best team in baseball, rather easily. We aren’t gonna go that crazy, but they aren’t too far off.   

Biggest Movers

1	Padres	The Padres are 12-1 at home, but just 4-5 on the road.	—	16-6
2	Dodgers	Quality week at the office for the champs, taking care of business against an awful team and then winning a road series against a good one.	4	16-7
3	Mets	The Mets are now 11-5 against teams under .500. Does that matter? Probably not. They’re playing good baseball against everyone. They’re also 4-2 against teams over .500.	1	15-7
4	Cubs	You know why sports rule? In what other walk of life would you punch something in anger and about 10 minutes later scream in delight? This may or may not have happened at Power Rankings Central late Friday afternoon.	1	14-10
5	Yankees	That was a 6-1 week for the Bronx Bombers. I was definitely too quick to sour on them, though I’m certain Trent Grisham’s 1.093 OPS is due a major correction.	5	14-8
6	Phillies	We’re required to point out that it’s still early and mention small samples and all that, but the bullpen is becoming pretty concerning. They lead the majors with seven blown saves and have an ERA north of 6.	1	13-9
7	Giants	The Ryan Walker meltdown on Sunday prevented the Giants from moving to 11-5 on the road. It also means they are below .500 since that 8-1 start.	3	14-8
8	Tigers	They are doing this with Riley Greene hitting .226/.270/.381 and the easy assumption is he starts hitting sooner rather than later.	1	13-9
9	Rangers	Much of my preseason and early season love for the Rangers was predicated on how much I thought the offense was going to improve from last year. Through 22 games, the Rangers are averaging 3.05 runs per game and haven’t scored more than six in a game. In 2023, they scored in double digits 26 times.	1	13-9
10	Diamondbacks	The Snakes had won seven of eight before hitting Wrigley. The good news is they don’t have to go back this season.	1	13-9
11	Brewers	This’ll get the juices flowing for the fans in attendance: the Brewers stole six bases Sunday. Not in the game. In the first inning! They stole nine in the game. Ridiculous.	2	12-10
12	Mariners	The batting average is going to remain low, but the Mariners are finding a way to win games. You know what helps? They lead the majors in stolen bases.	1	12-10
13	Astros	There will continue to be growing pains with Cam Smith, but you can see the immense upside in flashes, such as his two-homer game on Friday.	1	10-11
14	Blue Jays	Does George Springer have one last big season in him? He’s currently slashing .344/.414/.557.	—	12-10
15	Red Sox	How about the Trevor Story renaissance? He’s hitting .318 with five homers and 14 RBI through 22 games. He had five homers and 24 RBI in 69 games in the previous two seasons.	—	12-11
16	Guardians	They’ve won nine of their last 12 games, but should we be concerned about Emmanuel Clase?	—	12-9
17	Reds	Remember when the Reds were shut out three games in a row to start April? Remember when they were 2-6? They scored 24 runs on Sunday to move to .500 on the year. Gotta love the marathon that is baseball season. And we’ve barely gotten started.	2	11-11
18	Braves	Here they come? The Braves are now 8-6 since the disastrous first road trip of the season. Matt Olson has started to hit. Spencer Strider is back on the mound. And they’re now 6-2 at home.	6	8-13
19	Angels	What an amazing comeback on Sunday in the ninth to avoid their sixth loss in seven games. Still, the Angels are in the midst of a course correction after that great start.	1	11-10
20	Rays	If you haven’t gotten a chance yet to see Chandler Simpson run, please rectify that grave injustice ASAP.	—	9-13
21	Orioles	Mike Elias should be fired. I’m dead serious. He forced the fans to go through three of the worst seasons in franchise history (they were all worse than the year the O’s started 0-21) and couldn’t better build organizational pitching depth than this? It’s malpractice.	1	9-12
22	Royals	Before Sunday’s win, the Royals had lost eight of their last nine and I was definitely losing steam on my whole “the Royals are gonna win the AL Central” prediction.	5	9-14
23	Athletics	The Vagabonds outscored the White Sox 23-4 in a three-game sweep and get to face them again this coming week.	4	10-12
24	Cardinals	They’ve now lost four straight games to fall four under .500. Meanwhile, Nolan Arenado is hitting well. Hmmm …	3	9-13
25	Marlins	Post-hype breakout? Former top prospect Max Meyer looks fantastic so far, sporting a 2.63 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 24 innings.	—	9-12
26	Pirates	They aren’t terrible at home, sitting 6-7 after a 3-4 week. The problem is the Bucs are 2-8 on the road and now head to Los Angeles for three apiece against the Angels and Dodgers.	2	8-15
27	Nationals	The MLB leader in strikeouts? MacKenzie Gore, with 45. That’s in 29 innings.	1	9-13
28	Twins	It is still really early, but it’s been a while since the Twins were a good team.	5	7-15
29	White Sox	Last year at this time, the White Sox were 3-18. Baby steps are still steps.	—	5-16
30	Rockies	What has happened with Kris Bryant is relatively sad. He’s a good dude, by all accounts (including my handful of conversations with him). He is known as a hard worker. He has a good attitude. He’s just always hurt. Rough situation.	—	4-17