Cubs Fans Will Love Latest ESPN MLB Power Rankings

It is no secret that the Chicago Cubs are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. They have won 11 of their last 13 games and sit atop the NL Central division with a record of 32-23. The Cubs' recent success has caused them to jump in ESPN's latest MLB power rankings as well.

The Cubs come in ranked No. 8, which is a major improvement from the No. 13 spot they found themselves in last week. They trail just three other National league teams and are a full five spots ahead of any other team in the division.

Cubs MLB Power Rankings

Despite suffering a number of injuries on the roster, the Cubs seem to just keep winning ball games. Players called upon for depth purposes are suddenly looking like All-Stars. For example, rookie infielder Patrick Wisdom has hit four home runs in his first 10 career major league ball games.

One thing that sticks out about the Cubs squad is the dominance of the bullpen. Their group of relievers ranks No. 2 in the MLB in both ERA (2.64) and strikeouts (267). Veteran Craig Kimbrel has been one of the best closers in baseball this year, posting a 0.78 ERA while accumulating 13 saves and 39 strikeouts in 23.0 innings pitched.

Hitting the long ball certainly helps the team out, too. The Cubs are tied for No. 6 in the MLB by averaging 1.27 home runs per game. In fact, they have three players with at least nine on the season and are led by shortstop Javier Baez (14).

The Cubs seem to have the pieces in place to be a legitimate World Series contender this season. They have odds set at +270 to win the division and odds set at +4500 to win it all, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.