Chicago Cubs could take a huge step toward October if they do one thing Chicago Cubs could take a huge step toward October if they do one thing by Jake Misener Thanks to a strong homestand, the Chicago Cubs continue to climb up the MLB.com Power Rankings, trailing just one other National League club. Remember when the Chicago Cubs looked like a 75-win team there for a couple of weeks? Yeah, me neither. The team’s incredible play over the last month has erased all doubt over the club’s standing in the National League pecking order. Chicago won eight of 10 on its recent homestand and head into Tuesday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds looking to make it nine consecutive series victories. That played a big role in the team’s climb in the most recent MLB.com Power Rankings, where the Cubs check in at fifth among big league teams. Here’s what they had to say about Joe Maddon‘s club, who check in this week behind the top-ranked Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees: Similar to the Yankees, the Cubs have turned it on after a dreadful start to the season. The Cubs were 2-7 to open the year, but since then, they’re 22-7 over 29 games since April 8 and haven’t lost a series since dropping two of three to Milwaukee from April 5-7. Kris Bryant has reached base safely in each of his past 22 games since April 17, the longest active streak in the Majors. That’s also a career-high for the Cubs third baseman. Chicago ranks third among National League teams in runs – thanks largely, in part, to the exploits of the team’s big bats. Kris Bryant is enjoying one of the hottest stretches of his career – carrying a personal best 22-game on-base streak into action today. Anthony Rizzo looks on track for yet another 100-RBI season again in 2019 and last year’s National League MVP runner-up Javier Baez is building on his breakout campaign in a big way. Willson Contreras has bounced back from a dismal second half of 2018 to put up some big-time numbers, already tying his 10 home run total from a year ago. His 1.035 OPS would blow his previous personal bests out of the water by a significant margin. And if all that weren’t enough, the Chicago Cubs have received some of the best pitching in Major League Baseball. Jon Lester leads all qualified hurlers with a 1.16 ERA after his latest gem. The other guys in the rotation have all pulled their weight and the club has gotten some unexpected quality from guys like Brandon Kintzler and Tyler Chatwood – two complete busts from last summer. Want your voice heard? Join the Cubbies Crib team! Write for us! Chicago could start separating themselves from the pack in a hurry this week against the lowly Reds and the struggling Washington Nationals. With an offense that’s shown a proclivity for the theatrics and a pitching staff ready to step up when needed, this team went from worst to first and shows no signs of slowing down.<doc-sep>A long-standing phrase in the baseball lexicon has been that we can't really judge a team until we've seen 40 games. It makes sense and lines up with all the "it's early" talk we've been painstakingly enduring here to this point. Now that the league is right around the 40-game mark -- some have a few more games played, some have fewer -- I see a pretty fun likelihood: There is no clear-cut No. 1 team. We have seen some total dominance in recent years that we aren't seeing right now. Remember the 2016 Cubs? How about the 2017 Astros and then the Dodgers. Last season, I had the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros as an easy top three in whatever order every single week by now. This time around, it's a lot more crowded at the top. Who is No. 1? I see six possibilities and they all have a legitimate claim. • The Rays have sat in the No. 1 spot more than any other team since the season started, they sit in first place in the AL East and have the second-best run differential in baseball. • The Yankees are only a half-game behind the Rays and just won two of three in Tropicana Field. They're also presumably getting reinforcements back from the injured list and having more talent on the way is always a plus. • The Twins have the best record, so obviously they have an easy claim to say they are the best team in baseball. There isn't really much more explanation needed. • After a 2-5 start, the Astros returned home and went back into crush mode. They've gone 24-10 since. They also sport the best run differential in baseball. • Similar to the Astros, the Cubs started 3-8 and have gone 21-6 since. They have the best NL run differential despite having played five fewer games than the Dodgers. • Those Dodgers are as deep and talented as any team in baseball. They lead the majors in wins (27). Among these six, they have the best record against .500 or better teams at 16-11 (the Cubs are second at 14-10). I don't see a strong argument for any other team for the top spot. These six are so close to me that I went on CBS Sports HQ Sunday afternoon with my top five -- before any of the teams above had finished their respective games -- and had a totally different order. That's how close they are. One game -- well, to be honest, it's who wins series (singular this time) that swung some things -- is determining how I order these six after around 40 games. Maybe someone like the Phillies, Brewers or even Red Sox stake a claim at some point moving forward, but for right now, this group of six is the clear-cut cream of the majors. Order them however you want. There's no wrong answer here. This is how they shake out for me. Previous rankings: Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason | Offseason<doc-sep>If this was the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we'd be entering the end of Phase 1. Baseball is headed for a blockbuster summer if some of these standings hold up — the NL Central is going to be wild, as will the AL East — and will have plenty of twists, turns, excitement and (for some) tears, like "Avengers: Endgame." So while you heat up your popcorn and wait for the next phase of baseball to unfold, here are the SN Power Rankings. As always, please do not @ me. MORE: Watch 'ChangeUp,' a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN 1. Astros Previous: 1 The Astros are 8-2 in their past 10 games and have scored 7.6 runs per game in that stretch. There's no concern for the Astros right now, as they're still deeper and more diverse offensively than the Avengers team members. What's most encouraging for Houston is that Gerritt Cole seems to be finding his stuff again after some laborious starts early in the season. From the lineup, to the rotation, to the bullpen, to the team masseuse, to the beer vendors, the Astros are baseball's best once again. 2. Dodgers Previous: 2 Through 110 at-bats, Alex Verdugo reminded everyone what made him a much-hyped top prospect. Entering May 13, Verdugo was slashing .333/.377/.552 with a 147 OPS+ while playing elite-level defense. Oh, and Cody Bellinger is still doing his MVP-level thing. Oh, and Clayton Kershaw is still Clayton Kershaw. Oh, and Hyun-jin Ryu is pitching to a Cy Young level. Oh, and Justin Turner is turning it around. Oh, and… Get the picture? The Dodgers are still the NL's best and they have the advantage of playing in a pretty mediocre division. That's not a slight against L.A., just an observation. 3. Rays Previous: 3 Losing Tyler Glasnow hurts, but the Rays are still very good on the rubber without him. Lest we forget, they have Charlie Morton and Blake Snell at the top of that rotation, and have Austin Meadows back — and raking — anchoring that lineup. They lost two of three to the Yankees over the weekend, but no matter. They have an opportunity to exact Rays revenge later this week at Yankee Stadium. The AL East is getting tight, but the Rays are still at the top. 4. Cubs Previous: 12 The Cubs are who we thought they were, and we almost let them off the hook. With the offense finally alive, Kris Bryant finally hitting and their staff ERA among the best in MLB, this is the Cubs team that many expected to see entering 2019, which is why I have no problem bumping them all the way up to No. 4. The NL Central will be fun to watch the rest of the way if Chicago continues to be Chicago, and there's no reason to think it won't be — at least for now. 5. Twins Previous: 10 The Twins are still atop the AL Central and they're still hitting, so they earned a spot in the top five. That's not to say they're a flawless team, though they've done a better job masking their flaws than most. Entering May 13, Twins starters boasted a 2.28 ERA over their past two weeks worth of games. That's the second-best number in MLB behind the Cubs. The Twins are going way beyond "cute team" and should be taken seriously in the AL Central — not that they have much competition in the division. 6. Phillies Previous: 7 The Phillies sit atop the NL East as the rest of the teams in the division try to sort themselves out. The Phillies aren't the perfect team, but offensive inconsistencies that hurt them earlier in the season seem to be alleviated now. They're top 10 in baseball in runs per game, even though Bryce Harper hasn't hit his stride in a Phillies uniform just yet. There's one issue, and it's a $325 million one: After hitting three home runs in his first four games, Harper has four in his past 29 games. His 20.0 at-bat per home run mark is the highest it's been since 2016. Harper has proven to be a fairly streaky hitter in his career, but being in a pretty loaded lineup and not playing to that expected MVP level just yet isn't concerning, but it's something to watch. 7. Yankees Previous: 13 The Yankees take a healthy step forward in the rankings as they begin to get healthy. The biggest question for the Bombers while they've sustained injuries has been whether they'll be able to tread water. They've done that and then some. Now, as they get key pieces back — Gary Sanchez has returned, Aaron Hicks could be back in the lineup soon — we'll see how the balance of power in the AL East changes. It's going to be interesting to see how the team structure changes once more players return. Obviously, better talent doesn't hurt, but if it's not broken, don't fix it, right? 8. Red Sox Previous: 19 Oh, hi, defending World Series champs. Boston makes a big jump to No. 8, with the Sox going 11-2 in their past 13 games and looking more like the team everyone expected them to be entering this season. They'll need Chris Sale to continue on the right path: Over his past three starts, he's allowed three earned runs in 21 innings. 9. Brewers Previous: 8 Milwaukee's starter ERA is around the bottom third of MLB, but bringing back Gio Gonzalez was an absolute no-brainer for the Brewers. Through three starts, Gonzalez has pitched to a 1.69 ERA (2.35 FIP) in 16 innings. Makes you wonder why they didn't make an effort to bring him back before the season rather than wait until now. The Crew is about average by all metrics — pitching, hitting, you name it — but they're still in second in a tough division and 9-4 in their past 13, so that average-ness isn't manifesting itself just yet. 10. Cardinals Previous: 4 The Cardinals followed a 10-1 stretch by going 2-8 in their next 10.<doc-sep>Having won eight of their last nine games, the Houston Astros are firing on all cylinders and are primed to run away with the American League West again. The Astros will be without Jose Altuve (hamstring) for at least 10 days, but they're more than capable of getting by in the former MVP's absence. The team hit 27 home runs in the first 11 games of May, with Alex Bregman (7) and George Springer (6) leading the way. After a down year in 2018 (.265, 22 HR), Springer has been a revelation for Houston this season. The 29-year-old looks to be realizing his full potential, leading the AL in home runs and RBI through Sunday. Springer was limited to 140 games in each of the past two seasons and the Astros are wisely limiting his workload, using him as the designated hitter nine times in the team's first 41 games. Houston is in Detroit for three games this week, followed by a weekend set at Fenway Park in a rematch of last year's ALCS. Here's how our eight-person panel voted this week: RANK (movement from last week) 1. Houston Astros (+2) Ryan Pressly hasn't walked a batter or given up a run in 17 innings. 2. Los Angeles Dodgers (-1) It's the second week of May and Cody Bellinger is flirting with .400. 3. Tampa Bay Rays (-1) Injuries piling up: Tyler Glasnow, Mike Zunino, Michael Perez all hit the IL. t-4. Chicago Cubs (–) No surprise the team's surge coincided with Kris Bryant's awakening. t-4. Minnesota Twins (+2) Twins catchers through 38 games: .339/.423/.764. 6. New York Yankees (+1) Gio Urshela seizing the third base job from Miguel Andujar. 7. Philadelphia Phillies (+1) Leading the division even with Bryce Harper's struggles. 8. Milwaukee Brewers (+2) Gio Gonzalez (1.69 ERA in three starts) looking like a real bargain. 9. Boston Red Sox (+5) Chris Sale's last two starts: 24 K, 1 ER, 1 BB. 10. St. Louis Cardinals (-5) Andrew Miller settling in after a rough start. 11. Arizona Diamondbacks (-2) Wilmer Flores starts May on a 14-for-34 tear. 12. San Diego Padres (+1) Team is in good shape – but Manny Machado needs to get going. 13. Cleveland Indians (-2) Shane Bieber stepping up with Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger out. 14. Atlanta Braves (-2) Sean Newcomb can become a major weapon out of the bullpen. 15. New York Mets (+1) Jeff McNeil's first 100 career games: .342 average. 16. Pittsburgh Pirates (+3) After disappointing 2018, Josh Bell (.988 OPS through May 12) is raking. 17. Los Angeles Angels (+6) How the team handles Shohei Ohtani is going to be fascinating. 18. Oakland Athletics (+4) Jurickson Profar (.552 OPS in 36 games) has been disappointing after breakout 2018. 19. Colorado Rockies (+2) Bryan Shaw looking sharp after awful 2018 campaign. 20. Cincinnati Reds (+5) Nick Senzel impressive in his first two weeks in the majors. 21. Seattle Mariners (-6) Middle infielders of the future J.P. Crawford and Shed Long called up. 22. Texas Rangers (-5) Hunter Pence is turning back the clock and it's so fun to watch. 23. Washington Nationals (-5) Injuries hurt, but we didn't think the team would struggle like this. 24. Detroit Tigers (–) Top prospect Casey Mize (0.60 ERA in 45 IP) could be on the fast track. 25. Chicago White Sox (+1) Rotation had an MLB-worst 6.15 ERA through May 12. 26. Toronto Blue Jays (-6) Edwin Jackson will make history as Blue Jays become his 14th team. 27. San Francisco Giants (–) Reyes Moronta (31 K in 17 IP) looks like the closer of the future. 28. Kansas City Royals (–) Hunter Dozier, the eighth overall pick in 2013, finally living up to hype. 29. Baltimore Orioles (–) John Means, 26, has a 2.61 ERA in six starts. 30. Miami Marlins (–)<doc-sep>
May is here now and the 2019 Major League Baseball season is starting to wake up. Things are starting to feel more routine, which in turn means things are also starting to become less dependent on a small sample size. There’s a little more of a body of work at this point, but as I assess the league each week for the Yahoo Sports Power Rankings, I’m not totally against a hot streak or a whim. I’m not necessarily going to proclaim the Red Sox fixed because they’ve won seven of 10, but I am starting to believe that what we’re seeing from teams like the Cubs and Twins lately can be who they really are. Those two teams caught my eye the most this week. Obvious reasons for the Cubs. They haven’t lost since our last installment, rattling off seven straight wins, including a sweep of the very-good St. Louis Cardinals that ended with a 13-5 pounding Sunday. The Twins, on the other hand, have been exceeding expectations since the start of the season but it’s starting to look more real now and that’s reflected in their spot this week. Here’s how I see MLB this week: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (22-14; last week: 1) The Dodgers are my default No. 1 these days until someone comes and takes the crown from them. There’s nothing terribly exciting to mention this week but they remain an overall solid team — the best offense in the game and a top 10 pitching staff. They’ve had good wins as well as a plentiful amount of them, plus they have one of the best run differentials in the league. They check all the boxes. 2. Houston Astros (20-14; last week: 3) The Astros are my default AL team these days, but the Twins are close behind. The Astros did lose three of four to the Twins this week, but crushed the ball in Mexico against the Angels. When the Astros are at their best, I still don’t think many teams can beat them. 3. Minnesota Twins (20-12; last week: 8) A nice bump for the Twins this week, who last week I dismissed as winning a lot of games against the Orioles. Still true, but then they played the Yankees and Astros and held their own. You may not think of them as a big power team, but they’re third in MLB with homers. The run differential is there. The pitching is in the top half of the league. They look legit. Story continues 4. Tampa Bay Rays (21-12; last week: 2) It’s still early enough in the season that I’m not going to fully excuse a ho-hum week, so the Rays — still MLB’s best team by winning percentage — drop a little bit after splitting series with the Orioles and Royals this week. Gotta do better than that, dudes, to stay in the Top 2. 5. Chicago Cubs (19-12; last week: 11) Take that, computers! The Cubs, burned by computer predictions before the season started, seem to have finally put it together. They vaulted into first place in the NL Central during their winning streak and despite their early struggles have the best run differential in baseball now. Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (40) points towards the bleachers after hitting a solo homer against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (Getty Images) 6. Milwaukee Brewers (20-16; last week: 7) The Brewers are an interesting team. They’ve played the toughest schedule in the league so far, and they’ve looked like one of the best teams, but their run differential is -10. I go with the eye test here instead, knowing the Brewers are better than that. 7. Arizona Diamondbacks (20-14; last week 14) In a year where the Rays and Mariners are the AL surprise teams, we’re probably not talking enough about the D-backs, who have been quite good lately. They swept the Yankees in two games this week, then took two of three from the Rockies. Surprisingly, they’ve scored the third most runs in MLB. 8. St. Louis Cardinals (20-14; last week: 4) Well, this is rich. The D-backs rank just ahead of the Cardinals, whom they traded Paul Goldschmidt to this winter. The Cardinals are good and Goldy has fit right in, but St. Louis is coming off a tough sweep at the hands of the Cubs. 9.