Sep 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detailed view of Chicago Cubs third baseman Javier Baez (9) (not pictured) hat and glove with the initials P.R. for his home country Puerto Rico against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Cubs Holding Steady In Latest Power Rankings Despite Offensive Decline

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The latest ESPN power rankings are in and it is no surprise that the Milwaukee Brewers still sit as the No.1 team in baseball. However, with the inconsistencies that the Chicago Cubs keep showcasing, it is surprising that they still sit as the No. 6 team in the majors.

September is rapidly approaching which means the postseason is right around the corner and their extreme highs and lows have got to level out if they want to be real competitors in October.

The Brewers are running away with the division that the Cubs sat perched atop of for most of the season. Their offensive struggles have been on display for what feels like months (specifically in the outfield).

The Cubs' roster is too good swinging a bat for this to continue much longer, but it feels like that has been said a lot in the last six to eight weeks. However, if this their is a time to slump it is good to do it now rather than in October.

Battle at the Plate

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Craig Counsell has been ridiculed lately for the players who are consistently fielded night after night, but have shown they desperately need a reset of some sort. Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ian Happ have all found themselves in slumps.

So when 1/3 of your batting order is struggling it isn't easy to put runs on the board. Counsell made the brilliant decision to bring up Owen Caissie, but then hasn't utilized him.

There has also been disbelief at the lack of use of Matt Shaw. There is no argument that he had major difficulties at the beginning of the season (enough that there was major considerations about trading him). However, that threat was enough to kickstart him. Shaw has been arguably the best bat in the rotation in the last 30 games with significant less at-bats than most. When he does start, he is batting ninth.

Luckily for the Cubs they gained a serious arm at the plate who has been a massive contributor to keep Chicago at the top spot for the wild card- Cade Horton.

Insider Jesse Rogers from ESPN spoke nothing but great things of the rookie: "Let's start with his ERA since the All-Star break: It's a minuscule 0.49. We could stop right there, but how he's doing it is even more impressive. In two of his starts this month, Horton threw a combined 141 pitches, including a whopping 111 for strikes. And his in-the-zone stuff is lights out. He's an ace in the making." said Rogers.

Career-high 8 strikeouts
5 no-hit frames
28.1 consecutive scoreless innings

Cade Horton ‍‍‍ pic.twitter.com/Cr94Wv21XO
— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2025

Right now the Cubs are looking to avoid a sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants before traveling to Colorado to take on the Rockies. They need to finish this month strong before September starts and they fight to keep the ever-so important top seed in the National League wild card.

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