Let’s check in on the Cubs and their NL Central rivals

The Cubs are in the middle of a seven-game stretch against division rivals.

The Cubs maintained a 5½ game lead in the division over the weekend taking three of four from the Pirates, but now the real fun starts. The second place Brewers are heading to Wrigley Field for a three-game set, there will be a brief interleague interlude and then the Cubs will head to St. Louis for the first games of the greatest rivalry in baseball in 2025 with four games against the third-place Cardinals. June is here and these series will tell us a lot about the Cubs relative to the rest of the division. So before tonight’s 7:05 first pitch, let’s take a look at where each team stands in the NL Central, along with how we got here and one fun fact to keep an eye on as just two weeks away from the dog days of summer.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are 44-28 and off to their best team start since 2016 when they were 48-24 through their first 72 games of the season. We all know how that season wound up. While the team has cooled off a bit in June with an 8-6 record and a .571 win percentage as opposed to the .621 winning percentage they put up prior to June, they are still sitting atop the division with a solid lead against the second place Brewers.

The key performers so far have really been offseason acquisition, Kyle Tucker and centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, and it’s no mistake that those performances have them leading OF All Star balloting so far.

Looking ahead, a healthy Shōta Imanaga and adding to the starting pitching ranks would set the Cubs up nicely heading down the stretch. You can see Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy discussing Imanaga’s rehab process and timeline below:

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers are 39-34 and 5½ games in back of the Cubs as they head into Wrigley Field for a three-game series. The shape of their season has been the opposite of the Cubs, with an identical 8-6 record in June and a .525 win percentage prior to the .571 they put up in June. They’ll be looking to continue the upwards trajectory below as they head into Chicago:

FanGraphs

Many of their young core of outfielders continue to thrive with Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick both putting up solid numbers at the beginning of 2025. Christian Yelich has seen a bit of a resurgence and Freddy Peralta has pitched like the staff ace they need him to be with a 2.60 ERA in 83 innings pitched.

They just called up their top pitching prospect and Jacob Misiorowski, who the Cubs will see in action tomorrow night. In Misiorowski’s debut he threw five no-hit, scoreless innings with five strikeouts and four walks. He hit 103 miles per hour with his fastball during that debut and while he’ll need to get the walks under control, Misiorowski, Peralta and potentially Brandon Woodruff at the top of a rotation is a fierce trio of pitchers for our neighbors to the north.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are in the midst of a June swoon that has them 4-10 on the month after putting up a 33-25 record earlier in the season. They recently snapped a six game losing streak and while there are some bright spots here and there, there are a lot of questions in St. Louis these days.

Their best performers so far this season have been Willson Contreras, who after a slow start to the season has posted a .275/.365/.478 slashline with a wRC+ of 140 and six home runs since May 1. Iván Herrera, who was slated to take over primary backstop duties from Contreras has also been excellent offensively. Their best pitcher by fWAR has been Sonny Gray, but the most unexpected performance has come from Matthew Liberatore, who is just .2 fWAR behind Gray. Liberatore as stayed in the rotation despite early season rumors he’d be moved to the bullpen.

The biggest questions looking ahead revolve around mainly around playing time with roster crunches at second base and in the outfield. Curiously, the Cardinals are carrying three catchers on their 26-man roster NOT including Contreras who has only played 1B (and DH) so far this season. They’ll certainly have some roster flexibility when they decide how to distribute playing time to prospects.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are the epitome of a .500 baseball team this season and as I write this they are sitting at 37-35, just a handful of games over .500. Every time it looks like they might pull away from .500, they win or lose a couple of games and head right back to .500.

There have been flashes of brilliance, like the performance Noelvi Marte put on before landing on the IL. Or Hunter Greene’s emergence as a dominant pitcher with a 2.72 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 53⅓ innings before also winding up on the IL. It’s just been that type of season for the Reds and their new manager, Terry Francona.

Looking ahead, it’s all about how the young players finish down the stretch as they get healthy. You could build an intriguing roster out of the guys the Reds have on the injured list right now, including but not limited to Marte, Greene, Austin Hays, Jeimer Candelario, and Brandon Williamson. They’ve got an excellent manager at the helm to try and take a middling start to a strong finish.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Ah, yes, the Pirates. It’s been a disappointing 29-44 start to the season at PNC Park, which is really a shame because if Paul Skenes bobblehead day was any indication, this is a city that is just waiting for an excuse to turnout for their team:

But alas, the Pirates have decided to roll with a roster of weak-hitting, platoon-worthy, scrappy utility guys that would put the 2022 Chicago Cubs to shame. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all of there were some crossover between those two lists.

In addition to Skenes’ absolutely filthy performance that deserves far better than a 4-6 record with a 1.78 ERA in 96 innings, Oneil Cruz has put on quite a show so far this season. While the .223 batting average isn’t much to write home about, the .345 OBP paired with 13 home runs and 25 stolen bases through the Pirates’ first 73 games is notable. If only Skenes and Cruz had a handful of other guys around them to join in the youth movement.

Looking ahead, Bubba Chandler started his season in the minors in a very Paul Skenes-esque fashion before falling on some hard times with far too many walks in recent starts. He should right the ship and get called up at some point before the end of the 2025 season, setting up a 2026 Pirates rotation helmed by Skenes, Chandler and 2024 breakout pitcher Jared Jones. Hopefully the Buccos will make a move or two for hitting in the offseason.