Chicago Cubs See Historic Rise in Latest MLB Power Rankings

The Chicago Cubs saw a serious bump in Sports Illustrated's weekly power rankings on Inside the Phillies this week.

Jack Vita | Aug 14, 2023

Chicago Cubs See Historic Rise in Latest MLB Power Rankings /

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Chicago Cubs

This week, the Chicago Cubs made a major move up in Sports Illustrated's weekly MLB power rankings on Inside the Phillies. For the first time all season, the Cubs are a top-10 team.

In Monday's edition of the power rankings, the Cubs moved up a spot from last week. The North Siders made their biggest jump of the season last week, leaping from no. 20 to no. 11. Entering last week, the Cubs had won 11 of 15 games, improving their record from 48-51 to 59-55.

This past week, the Cubs played .500 ball, going 3-3 on a road trip in which they visited the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. The Cubs enter the week sitting at 61-57, 3.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central division.

The Brewers will be tested this week, as they travel to Los Angeles and Texas for series with the Dodgers and Rangers. With the Cubs playing their next 12 games against the White Sox, Royals, Tigers and Pirates, David Ross' club will have a prime opportunity to make a move up in the NL Central hierarchy.

Here's a look at the full top-10:

10) Chicago Cubs (61-57; +64 DIFF, 31-37 vs. >.500)

9) Philadelphia Phillies (65-54; +33 DIFF, 37-37 vs. >.500)

8) Milwaukee Brewers (65-54; +6 DIFF, 32-33 vs. >.500)

7) Seattle Mariners (63-54; +58 DIFF, 31-37 vs. >.500)

6) Tampa Bay Rays (71-49; +139 DIFF, 40-35 vs. >.500)

5) Baltimore Orioles (73-45; +65 DIFF, 47-36 vs. >.500)

4) Houston Astros (68-51; +86 DIFF, 30-34 vs. >.500)

3) Texas Rangers (70-48; +181 DIFF, 35-29 vs. >.500)

2) Los Angeles Dodgers (71-46; +136 DIFF, 32-30 vs. >.500)

1) Atlanta Braves (75-42; +193 DIFF, 40-25 vs. >.500)

If the Cubs continue to clean up on their light schedule, they should continue to move up in the weekly power rankings.

Here's a look at the full, 30-team power rankings .

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

More From SI's Inside The Cubs

Published Aug 14, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Cubs, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.