Chicago Cubs Land in Top 15 of Latest Power Rankings

The season did not start well for the Chicago Cubs, but a strong finish gives the team a promising outlook for 2025.

Sep 28, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Porter Hodge (37) hugs catcher Miguel Amaya (9) after the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs had much higher hopes for their 2024 season with the addition of first-year manager Craig Counsell who found a high level of success in his nine years as skipper of the Milwaukee Brewers.

While the Cubs did finish above .500, they failed to make the 2024 MLB playoffs, disappointing many who thought they were built to make an October run, especially in the weak National League Central division.

The dog days of summer got to Chicago hard, as the team jumped out to an 18-12 record through the end of April, before playing 21-34 ball for May and June, falling to 39-46, but they finished the 2024 campaign strong with a 44-33 record from July 1st through the end of the regular season.

That strong finish has many still looking forward to the 2025 campaign, as it helped raise the stock of the organization, with Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report placing the Cubs 12th in the latest iteration of his MLB Power Rankings.

Reuter even sees the team as a legitimate player for a big-time free agent available this offseason with where they currently stand.

"The Cubs have money to spend and a glaring need for a face of the franchise player," writes Reuter, "so don't be surprised if they are serious players for Juan Soto while also kicking the tires on some of the other top names on the market."

Chicago is light on face of the franchise caliber players, with their closest candidate being Cody Bellinger, who is a household name but has been highly inconsistent throughout his career.

Even in his 2019 National League MVP season, it was strictly on the back of a strong first third of the year that saw him bat .379/.465/.749 with 20 home runs and 52 RBI across 241 plate appearances in 56 games.

The rest of the year would see him bat .262/.372/.561 with 27 home runs and 63 RBI across 420 plate appearances in 100 games, a drastic regression back to the mean though it was still good production, but Christian Yelich, the runner-up, was much more deserving of the award.

Bellinger has an opt-out in his deal with the Cubs but is not expected to opt out, though he could be a trade candidate for the club with Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong performing well enough at much cheaper price points in the two positions that Bellinger plays.

It is an interesting position that Chicago currently finds itself in, but a good one nonetheless, and the future is bright for their young roster.