Chicago Cubs offense goes cold as they free fall in latest MLB Power Rankings

The Chicago Cubs had a rough week last week, and that was evident in this week’s Power Rankings from The Athletic (Subscription Required).

In last week’s rankings, the Cubs were 7th, but this week, they’ve fallen five spots to 12th, and to rub salt in the wound, the Milwaukee Brewers now occupy the 7th spot on the list. 

The Cubs are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and they dropped three of four to the Pittsburgh Pirates after dropping two of three to the Atlanta Braves.

The team's problem right now doesn’t have anything to do with the starting pitching, as Shota Imanaga has continued to be arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and Justin Steele has returned to the rotation, but the offense has been completely nonexistent. The shortcomings of Ian Happ this season have left the Cubs with an inability to create runs, and that was emphasized over the course of the past month when the likes of Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Cody Bellinger, and Seiya Suzuki have all missed time with an injury.

The Cubs have dipped in the latest MLB Power Rankings, similar to their offensive regression.

In the seven games between the Braves and Pirates series the Cubs scored 17 runs. That averages out to 2.4 runs per game, and that’s simply not going to be good enough to win games and make headway in a good National League Central.

Things won’t get easier this week as the Cubs will have another three-game set with the Braves, and then they’ll play in St. Louis against the Cardinals for the first time this season over the weekend. 

It’s not going to be good enough to beat up on bad teams this season; the Cubs are going to have to. They need to start to win games against good teams and divisional opponents, and the only way they’ll be able to do that is if the bats wake up.