Things can change pretty quickly in a baseball season. We, of course, know this but what's happened in the NL Central in the past three or so weeks has been pretty staggering. 

Through July 7, the Brewers had been the first-place team for most of the season. The Cubs were only alone in first place for two days at the time. The Pirates, at 40-48, were an obvious contender/seller. 

  • The Brewers have been in first place for 75 days this season and once had a 4 1/2 game lead. They have now lost eight of their last nine games and face a 3 1/2 game deficit, partially because ...
  • The Cubs have won 15 of their last 20 games. They lead the majors in runs scored over that span. Even when they trailed the Brewers by 4 1/2 games, I told everyone who would listen this team was capable of "winning something like 15 of 20" and here we are. They now have a stronghold on the division. 
  • The Pirates, once left for dead, have won nine in a row and 11 of their last 12. They are now two games over .500 and 4 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot. That's in the territory where they have to be considered a contender. Why?
  • The Cardinals are a game over .500 and actually trail the Pirates. The Cardinals are still a contender, though, and finally fired Mike Matheny. Sure, they've gone 3-3 since, but losing three of five in Wrigley Field is hardly terrible. The Cubs are 31-17 at home. You could probably call the series a success, really. Still, the Cardinals trailing the Pirates right now is pretty surprising. They were six games ahead on July 7. 

As previously noted, things have changed pretty quickly here this month. 

Heck, we could even talk about the Reds and how they were absolutely dreadful to start the season (3-18 at one point leading to 8-27), but have gone 35-29 since May 7. They're actually not a bad team anymore. The Reds aren't a contender, but they've proven now for over two months that they are a good team who ruined their season with an awful start. 

And if that's the case, the Central is easily the strongest division in baseball from a top-to-bottom standpoint. It's got four contenders and the best last-place team. With how much has changed, it might just be the most fun, too. 

Biggest Movers
3 Pirates
2 Brewers
Rk
Teams
  
Chg
Rcrd
1 Red Sox The Red Sox haven't played a team currently with a winning record since July 1 and they don't again until July 30. Cushy month. -- 89-73
2 Astros It was interesting to see them get trucked and use a position player at pitcher on Sunday. Why? Because it's usually the other way around. The Astros are now 24-5 in games decided by five or more runs. 1 87-75
3 Yankees Dellin Betances has become underrated. He's pitching to a 2.55 ERA and has the highest K/9 (15.73) among AL relievers. 1 94-68
4 Cubs The Cubs have won 58 games this season and 32 have been of the come-from-behind variety. That's the best in the majors and a stunning percentage. -- 92-70
5 Mariners It didn't end up being the game-winner, but how cool was the Jean Segura All-Star Game homer? -- 90-72
6 Athletics The amazing run continues, as the A's have won 23 of their last 30 games. -- 76-86
7 Guardians The bullpen has been a total mess all season, but there's time to get Cody Allen and Andrew Miller right. Team those two with Brad Hand and it could be a deadly threesome in October. -- 88-74
8 Dodgers Manny Machado sure knows how to make a first impression, huh? What a first series. -- 93-69
9 Phillies Get acquainted with Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez if you haven't already. The 23-year-old rookie sports a 1.59 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and has 43 strikeouts in 34 innings. -- 96-66
10 Rockies The Rox have won 15 of their last 19 games. Part of that is they finally started winning at home. They're now back to .500 (23-23) after winning eight of their last nine in Coors Field. 2 43-119
11 Braves Big start to the second half for Ronald Acuna (6 for 9 with two doubles and a homer). Harbinger of things to come? -- 76-86
12 Brewers It's time to break out the "big boy pants," guys. The upcoming stretch is brutal, including an eight-game West Coast trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. 2 97-65
13 Diamondbacks This offense really could use a boost. Hey, maybe they could have signed J.D. Martinez this past offseason? Hmm ... -- 80-82
14 Pirates If they keep playing like this, the Pirates could actually be buyers this month. Wow. 3 71-91
15 Giants From June 26-Aug. 15, the Giants have played/are going to play 41 games against teams currently with a winning record. Only two games in that stretch come against a current below-.500 team. That's as grueling a schedule stretch as I can remember. 1 81-81
16 Angels When Kole Calhoun was placed on the disabled on June 1, he was hitting .145/.195/.179. Yikes. Since, then, though, he's started to look like his old self. He returned on June 18 with a two-hit game and is hitting .278/.339/.684 with nine homers since. 1 72-90
17 Nationals Bryce Harper is 3 for 8 with a home run and walk since the break. Yay! He's struck out in four of his eight at-bats. Boo! 1 66-96
18 Cardinals They have made 20 errors in their last 21 games. Hint: That isn't good. 1 78-84
19 Rays Who cares if it came against the Marlins. A walk-off grand slam is an amazing thing to see. 1 77-85
20 Blue Jays Pretty sure sweeping the Orioles doesn't count, especially now with Machado gone. Sorry, Toronto. I don't make the rules. 2 94-68
21 Reds Among NL teams, only the Cubs, Rockies and Dodgers have scored more runs. The Reds' offense is a fun one to watch, too. 1 83-79
22 Twins The Twins won nine of their last 11 to hit the All-Star break feeling pretty good about themselves. Let's get a self-confidence check after being swept by the lowly Royals now. 1 70-92
23 Marlins Sidewinder Brad Ziegler had a rough few months to start the season, but he's pitched to a 0;72 ERA since June 1. He'll make a nice change-of-pace addition for a contender. -- 79-83
24 Mets They don't so much rise as much as the three teams below forced themselves down the list. 3 83-79
25 Rangers After a winning June, the Rangers are just 4-12 in July. 1 81-81
26 Padres Through June 15, the Padres were only four games below .500 and not looking too shabby. Since then? (Avert your eyes, Padres fans): 6-23. 1 90-72
27 Tigers Through June 17, the Tigers were one game under .500 and only 2 1/2 games out of first? Since then? (Avert your eyes, Tigers fans): 6-22. 1 87-75
28 White Sox Slugging prospect Eloy Jimenez is hitting .351/.400/.622 since getting called up to Triple-A (20 games). -- 60-102
29 Royals There aren't many plays we'll see this season that are more unlikely than Drew Butera hitting an inside-the-park home run. -- 82-80
30 Orioles Talk of being one of the worst teams in history is coming. More good players will be traded and the Orioles are on pace to go 45-117. -- 75-87