Entering this season, it seemed the National League was currently in a place that wouldn’t have anyone but Shohei Ohtani winning the NL MVP Award.
That’s when Pete Crow-Armstrong decided to change everything for the Chicago Cubs.
Crow-Armstrong has a great chance to win the MVP this season as he puts together an absolutely amazing campaign for the Cubbies.
Yes, Crow-Armstrong has been helped by the fact that Ohtani has dealt with arm issues that have limited his overall pitching impact.
Even if Ohtani had been on the mound full-time, though, PCA has had the kind of season that would’ve been hard to overlook.
The Stat That Makes The Whole Case
Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the National League in Wins Above Replacement by an absurd margin.
Entering play on Saturday, Sept. 5, Crow-Armstrong has 9.5 WAR.
Ohtani has 6.8 WAR, and he ranks second place in the league.
That gap of 2.7 WAR is about as big as you’ll ever find in a stat like this — unless of course it’s a magical Ohtani two-way season that works in the other direction for the Dodgers superstar.
PCA is so far ahead of second place that it’s the same gap between second place and 27th place:
The gap between Pete Crow-Armstrong (9.5) and Shohei Ohtani (6.8) in fWAR this season is the same as the gap between Ohtani and Paul Skenes (4.1), who is tied for 27th.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) September 5, 2026
Part of the reality here is that Crow-Armstrong is, in his own way, a two-way player, too.
Pete Crow-Armstrong Makes 2-Way Impact
It’s easy to think about hitters as a one-way player, but that’s only partially true.
Unless you’re in the DH spot, you also have to play defense. And man oh man, Crow-Armstrong plays defense.
He’s the best outfielder on the planet. Just on Friday night, he had an absurd robbery at the fence against the Marlins, but really, that isn’t even the whole story.
Some of Crow-Armstrong’s best plays don’t even look that impressive to the naked eye. He gets such good jumps, and is so fast, and takes such good routes, that he simply glides underneath almost every ball that is hit to centerfield.
His skillset is subtle, but it puts him far and away above other centerfielders. It’s almost magical to watch.
Sure, it’s not quite the same as pitching, but Ohtani doesn’t play defense. And a starting pitcher is only out there once every five or six games.
Crow-Armstrong’s magnificent centerfield defense is there day in and day out for the Cubs. His impact out on the grass is reflected in his WAR statistic. And barring a major surprise, Crow-Armstrong will be the MVP of the National League. Very few would’ve seen this coming, but it’s quite the feat.
Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong Stat Vs. Shohei Ohtani Decides MVP Race