Cubs Power Rankings — I was going to wait until the next off day to update my 2026 Chicago Cubs Power Rankings, but since tonight’s game doesn’t start until 9:15 (stupid West Coast), I felt we had some time.
In case you missed the first one, once a week(ish), I’m going to power-rank the Chicago Cubs active roster (so no injured players) based on a variety of subjective factors that basically amount to: how good does this player make me feel at this moment in time. It’ll be heavily weighted on their most recent performance, but each player’s overall upside and contributions (and general vibe) will factor in, as well. Once we have this baseline established, then we can monitor a player’s rise and fall throughout the season.
As a note, this isn’t exactly me ranking the BEST or most talented Cubs players in order. For example, I think Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to end up as one of the better players on the Cubs, but right now, he’s just not at the top of this list. So keep that in mind. Okay, let’s go.
Chicago Cubs Power Rankings – April 16
1. Nico Hoerner, 2B (prev. #1)
Nico Hoerner didn’t actually have his best week since our last check-in, but he still managed to slash .258/.314/.452 (113 wRC+) with two homers, four runs, four RBI, and a stolen base, all while striking out just 8.8% of the time. Throw in his masterful handling of the leadoff duties and truly superlative defense at second base (he had some SERIOUS highlights this week), he remains in the No. 1 spot. In other words, right now, I think he’s the Cubs’ most valuable player.
Nico Hoerner, STOP IT ? pic.twitter.com/mBUxZJLH7V
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 21, 20262. Shota Imanaga, SP (prev. #2)
Shota Imanaga ranked second in our Chicago Cubs Power Rankings last time, and, after holding the Phillies to one earned run on three hits over 7.0 innings on Tuesday, he isn’t falling an inch. As of this moment, Imanaga has not only been the clear best starting pitcher on the Cubs, but he’s been one of the most valuable starters in all of baseball: 2.17 ERA, 29.0 IP + three consecutive quality starts, one of which was a 9K no-hitter through 6.0 innings.
3. Ian Happ, LF (prev. #18)
This is by far the biggest jump up the list today, but it was also the most earned. I was also probably too low on him last time. Since our last check-in, Ian Happ has slashed .346/.485/.692 (225 wRC+) while launching three homers, stealing a bag, and delivering a handful of great catches in left field. More importantly, after striking out a bunch to start the year, Happ has struck out just five times in the last seven games, bringing his full-season K-rate down to a much more manageable 28.7%.
But he’s not just riding a recent hot streak to the top of these rankings. For the season as a whole, Happ is slashing .250/.361/.522 (146 wRC+) with a team-leading 7 HRs. And when you include his base running and defense, his 1.1 WAR is second only to Nico Hoerner. This spot has been earned.
4. Carson Kelly, C (prev. #3)
Technically, Kelly moved down a spot since our last check-in, but that has nothing to do with his contributions, which continue to be just really off the charts. Overall, the Cubs catcher is slashing .333/.440/.492 (168 wRC+) and he’s walking (14.7%) nearly as often as he strikes out (16.0%). When you throw in his work behind the plate – he’s been NAILS with ABS, but also just his regular old handling of the staff – it’s tough to rank anyone else ahead of him. Really just as good a start as you could imagine for him.
5. Moisés Ballesteros, DH (prev. #8)
Is there a hotter hitter in baseball? I mean, seriously. Moises Ballesteros jumps up three spots from our last Cubs Power Rankings, and if he played the field or started a little more often, it’d be impossible not to have him even higher. Even still, look at how well he’s hitting over the past week: .538/.600/1.000 (336 wRC+), and for the season as a whole (201 wRC+).
6. Seiya Suzuki, OF (prev. #17)
The only reason Suzuki was ranked so lowly last time was because he had only just come back from the IL and hadn’t really gotten going yet. But, uh, yeah, he’s kind of on fire here lately (since April 16): .375/.500/.792 (249 wRC+). Zoom out to the full season, and it’s more of the same. The Cubs’ right fielder is walking, hitting for average, hitting for power, and not striking out. He is locked in right now, and when he gets locked in, few hitters on this team are as good as he is. He also had a three-homers-in-three-days stretch since our last ranking, which pushed him even further up this list.
David Banks-Imagn Images7. Alex Bregman, 3B (prev. 9)
Finally, Alex Bregman’s excellent underlying statistics are showing up on the scoreboard/in his results. The Cubs third baseman is still not hitting for much power overall, but since last time, he’s slashed .300/.382/.433 (126 wRC+) while walking more often than he strikes out. I can’t remember who said this, but I saw someone make a post on X that really resonated with me/how I feel about Bregman: He’s not the Cubs’ best player in any single category, but he’s among the top 3-4 Cubs players in every category. That feels right. He’s just a consistent, stable force for this team, putting up TONS of quality at-bats. That’s good and deserving of a high ranking.
8. Edward Cabrera, SP (prev. 5)
Edward Cabrera’s modest drop this week is not so much about his performance, he tossed back-to-back quality starts against the Mets and Phillies, and it’s tough to argue with that, as much as it is about so many guys going nuclear to move ahead of him.
Still, he does seem to be still figuring things out. That start against the Mets, while just 3ER over 6.0 IP, featured eight hits. And his most recent game against the Phillies included a couple of homers and 5 runs (only 3ER). The good news there is that he didn’t walk anybody, so I still think he’s in a good place. He just didn’t quite do enough to keep pace with the rocket ship performances of the first seven players in this ranking.
9. Dansby Swanson, SS (prev. #6)
It’s the same story for Dansby Swanson, though he had a much colder week overall than every Cubs regular this side of Miguel Amaya. But his defense at short continues to be strong, and he’s still walking like an absolute madman: 18.1%, 8th highest in MLB. So because of all that, and because he’s still CLOBBERING the baseball according to Statcast, he remains inside Cubs’ top-10 at the moment. I think there’ll be some disagreements here, and I get that. But don’t sleep on the value he provides defensively. Plus, hey, he hit a homer and has 6 RBI since our last ranking. So, come on. For a bottom-of-the-order guy, he’s doing great.
10. Matt Shaw, UTL (prev. 12)
Not unlike Moises Ballesteros, Shaw probably would rank even higher if he played a little more often. At the same time, he’s been SCORCHING hot offensively since last Thursday, and he’s played right field, third base, DH, and center field over that stretch, as well. He’s also become a can’t-sit hitter versus left-handed pitching, which really works well for Craig Counsell’s rotating lineups. Very, very nice start for Mr. Shaw. He moves up two spots and deserves it.
11. Colin Rea, SP (prev. 7)
It’s increasingly difficult to rank Colin Rea, because it still feels like he’s over-performing his true-talent level … but these are not projections about what might come next, these are rankings about what has happened. And what has happened is Colin Rea being just absurdly good.
Since our last Cubs Power Rankings, Rea tossed a gem against the Phillies (6.2 IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 5K), bringing his full-season ERA down to 3.00. I think he’ll fall down these rankings a bit as the season goes on, and especially once Justin Steele returns, but for now, he’s great. And the Cubs would be in a much worse place without him.
12. Caleb Thielbar, RP (prev. 15).
Caleb Thielbar is impossible to rank, but mostly because I think he’s about to hit the Injured List after exiting yesterday’s game with the trainer. But before that, frankly, I thought he looked excellent. As a matter of fact, over the past week+, Thielbar has turned into the Cubs’ closer and most trusted arm out of the pen. Sure, that was entirely out of necessity, but that’s where we are/were. Whenever he does come back, Thielbar will remain a very valuable part of this Cubs pitching staff.
© Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images13. Jameson Taillon, RHP (prev. 16)
Jameson Taillon is going to be a roller coaster guy all year, I think. He’s just streaky like that. But after our last ranking, Taillon tossed 6.0 innings of one-run ball against the Mets with just five hits and three walks. And that was one game after striking out 10. He’s thrown 6.0 IP in three straight starts, which has become increasingly important for a team whose pitchers are dropping like flies.
14. Javier Assad, RP/SP (prev. 19)
Javier Assad’s last two appearances featured a very solid start against the Mets (5.2 IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K) and a fantastic (and clean) extra-inning appearance against the Phillies yesterday, which included the free runner at second and set up the Cubs’ walk-off win. His ability to keep delivering the goods is impossible to ignore, and his importance to this team as a healthy, effective pitcher is about as high as ever.
15. Ben Brown, RP (prev. 23)
Ben Brown is another guy I was probably a touch too low on last week, though I do understand why I had him where I did. It’s just that he’s really taken off here lately, appearing in four consecutive games with no earned runs and at least 2.0 innings pitched. His most recent outing, against the Phillies, was particularly impressive: 2.1 IP, 3H, 0ER, 0BB, 5K. It might always be an up-and-down thing for Brown, but right now, he’s flying pretty high.
16. Michael Busch, 1B (prev. 21)
Michael Busch was riding the struggle bus until about 10 days ago, but the tide seems to be turning rather quickly. Since April 12, the Cubs’ first baseman is slashing .300/.364/.450 (132 wRC+), and while there were some lucky/bloopy hits mixed in there, he’s clearly starting to heat up. With that said, the batted ball data remains concerningly low, and the BABIP since that same date is quite high. Thus, he moves up, but he’s still not among the Cubs’ top-15 most important/successful/valuable players *in this exact moment.* I have a feeling, however, that he’s going to rank much higher the next time we do this.
17. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF (prev. 20)
Pete Crow-Armstrong is on the precipice of ROCKETING up these rankings, as his bat is just starting to wake up. Last 40 PAs: .306/.375/.417 (127 wRC+). But there are still a lot of strikeouts, and his at-bats vs lefties look pretty brutal. He was also caught stealing twice in the last eight games. But still, if he continues in the direction he’s already been heading for 10+ days, I think you’ll find PCA much higher on the next set of Cubs Power Rankings. Plus, his defense in center field is just second-to-none.
© Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images18. Hoby Milner, RP (prev. 10)
Hoby Milner was probably ranked too high last time and might be ranked too low this time. After all, he’s appeared in 12 Cubs games so far this season and has allowed an earned run in just two out of those outings. He’s one of the precious few trusted relievers at the moment, and unfortunately, that makes him pretty darn important. At least until some of these guys start healing up.
19. Riley Martin, RP (prev. 11)
I could almost copy and paste Milner’s section here for Martin. This young lefty has stepped up in a HUGE and critical way this season, to a point where I think he might actually just be a permanent member of this bullpen, even if/when more of the regulars come back. And while he probably deserves to be higher than #18 based solely on his last-minute entrance and effective appearance yesterday after Thielbar’s injury, there have been far too many other great performances to push his stock up much higher. I really, really like what he’s done, though.
20. Miguel Amaya, C (prev. 14)
As I feared (and mentioned in our last rankings), the troubling peripherals for Miguel Amaya — at least in terms of contact quality, type, volume, and swing speed —are starting to show up in his once stronger-looking results. Now, for the season as a whole, he’s got just a 92 wRC+. And since our last ranking, Amaya has delivered just two hits with no RBI, no walks, and four strikeouts.
21. Michael Conforto, OF (prev. 13)
With Seiya Suzuki back and everyone hitting well, Michael Conforto has gotten into just two games since our last check-in for a grand total of 3 PAs. He’s still a very solid bench bat and a quality plate appearance every time he’s up. But we just can’t rank someone with such little exposure any higher than this. From one Michael C. to another, I’m sorry.
22. Matthew Boyd, SP (prev. Unranked, IL)
I was actually pretty thrilled by Matthew Boyd’s first (admittedly short) start off the IL. But he’s thrown just 14.0 IP total this season and just 4.2 since April 1. He will move up the rankings without a doubt, but again, this is a right now thing. And right now, he just doesn’t have the juice. Still, unless he gets hurt, I’d say there’s about zero chance he’s this low next time.
23. Corbin Martin, RP (prev. Unranked, MiLB)
Three scoreless innings is three scoreless innings. So good on Martin for that, even in low leverage. But I don’t think there’s much of a reason to have him any higher than this right now.
24. Ryan Rolison, RP (prev. 24)
He’s thrown one inning, and that was back on April 14. No idea what we’re doing here with this guy.
25. Jacob Webb, RP (prev. 22)
I’m not sure there’s been a single good Jacob Webb appearance this season. Okay, I am sure, and there have been some, but they are few and far between. I am nervous every time this guy takes the mound, and usually, that winds up being the right feeling. I know the Cubs are hurting at reliever, but Webb has just not had it all year. As soon as Palencia, Maton, Harvey o, or whoever is ready to come back, Webb might need a physical/mental reset trip to the IL. Because woof: 4.00 ERA, 7.00 xERA.
26. Scott Kingery, UTL (prev. 26)
Scott Kingery has been bad at the plate, bad on the field, and not used often. And now that the Cubs have acquired Nicky Lopez, I suspect Kingery’s time with the Cubs will soon come to an end. No hard feelings, but he’s had nothing for us this year.
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