Pete Crow-Armstrong, the crown jewel for Chicago Cubs fans and the most-hated player in MLB to seemingly everyone else, has not only rebounded from a tough few weeks to begin the 2026 season, but he’s also now a legit MVP candidate in the National League.
For the fans who now conveniently downplay the WAR stat to fit their narrative that the Cubs’ center fielder isn’t actually good, then you can just show them the traditional stats that show Crow-Armstrong has been an elite player ever since he silenced a rowdy crowd in St. Louis.
Chants of “overrated” rained down on Crow-Armstrong back on May 30, when the 24-year-old hit a missile into the tarps-off section in right field in Busch Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals. Since then, Crow-Armstrong has been on another planet, single-handedly keeping any excitement watching the Cubs through the team’s prolonged rough stretch.
For those who won’t instantly wave off WAR, Crow-Armstrong is now up to 4.1 fWAR and 4.3 bWAR, ranked second and first, respectively. In Wednesday night’s 8-6 win over the Colorado Rockies, Crow-Armstrong homered for the third straight game and the fourth time in his last five.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Last 17 Games (MLB Rankings)
9 Home Runs (t-1st)
.425 BA (3rd)
.456 OBP (8th)
.918 SLG (1st)
274 wRC+ (2nd)
1.374 OPS (2nd)
2.3 fWAR (1st)
Overall, Crow-Armstrong now has a slash line of .276/.349/.505, with 15 HR and 16 stolen bases through 75 games this season. Cubs fans saw this level of production in 2025, but then Crow-Armstrong crashed back to Earth in the second half. So, the big question is whether or not this year’s numbers are sustainable. The numbers under the hood point to a much better outlook for Crow-Armstrong for the rest of the 2026 season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong 2025 vs. 2026 (First 75 Games)
4.4 BB% – 7.8 BB%
43.7 hardhit% – 51.9 hardhit%
46.2 O-Swing% – 36.8 O-Swing%
61.5 Swing% – 52.0 Swing%
82.5 Z-Contact% – 85.0 Z-Contact%
72.3mph – 74.9mph (swing speed)
In simple terms, Crow-Armstrong is swinging less, swinging harder, and making more contact in the strike zone. He’s nearly doubled his walk rate, while also producing more quality contact, ranking in the 93rd percentile in hard-hit rate so far this season.
Legitimate changes to his approach have directly resulted in Crow-Armstrong’s rise back to superstardom.
Above, we highlighted Crow-Armstrong’s incredible 17-game stretch, but he’s been killing it on offense for far longer. Dating back to April 28, Crow-Armstrong ranks third in MLB with 14 home runs, fifth with a 174 wRC+, fifth with a .998 OPS, and leads every player with a 3.5 fWAR.
After becoming the first Cub to record a 30/30 season in 2024 since the 1990s, Pete Crow-Armstrong is on pace for another 30/30 year with the Cubs. Oh, and you know, he’s also the best defensive player in the game.
The haters can keep denying it, but right now Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best player in MLB.
