The Chicago Cubs were swept in the National League Wild Card Series by the San Diego Padres.
While superstar center fielder and X-factor Pete Crow-Armstrong struggled mightily in those two games, going 0-for-7 with four strikeouts, this can’t and won’t affect his candidacy for regular-season awards.
According to MLB.com, Crow-Armstrong is unsurprisingly a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award. This honor recognizes the most outstanding regular-season offensive performer in each league.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who is also among this year’s finalists, has been honored three consecutive times (one in the American League and two in the National League) and is vying for a fourth.
Will Crow-Armstrong end that streak?
The Case for Chicago Cubs Superstar Crow-Armstrong
Crow-Armstrong was arguably the best player in baseball this season. While the Hank Aaron Award only considers offensive performance, Crow-Armstrong was an elite two-way player.
Crow-Armstrong’s stats took a major leap in 2026 after a disappointing second half of the 2025 season. Playing all 162 games, Crow-Armstrong slashed a strong .280/.372/.570 with 45 home runs, 41 stolen bases and 107 runs driven in. He became the seventh member of the vaunted 40-40 club.
He was the engine for this Cubs offense that was one of the best in baseball.
Going beyond just the “basic stats”, Crow-Armstrong had a .374 xwOBA, in the 94th percentile among all hitters, according to Baseball Savant. This is a major jump from .321 in 2025. He walked more while increasing his bat speed, as many Cubs hitters did.
While defense isn’t part of this award, it’s worth noting that Crow-Armstrong had +26 Outs Above Average, the best in baseball among all fielders.
Crow-Armstrong also had a league-leading 9.8 bWAR, just shy of the rare 10.0 bWAR club.
With Ohtani missing time this season, this award is up for grabs this season, despite his finalist nomination. The four-time reigning MVP may have some competition this year.
The Case Against Ohtani
With Ohtani playing 135 games and pitching in just 14, it’s quite hard to give Ohtani an MVP or Hank Aaron Award. Ohtani will likely finish second in voting for these two awards, with Crow-Armstrong given an overwhelming 98% chance to win NL MVP over Ohtani, per Kalshi.
The Hank Aaron Award winner almost always reflects the MVP of that league. If Crow-Armstrong is the overwhelming favorite for MVP, he should also be the odds-on favorite for the Hank Aaron Award.
For what it’s worth, Ohtani hit 30 home runs with 11 stolen bases and 81 runs driven in, slashing .275/.377/.512 in 2026. These are all career lows since he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani had one of the best runs in MLB history, but it looks like someone else will win MVP in the same league as Ohtani.
After all is said and done, Crow-Armstrong may have some significant hardware at the end of the season. With a likely MVP, Hank Aaron, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, Crow-Armstrong’s trophy case might be getting full soon.
Cubs Superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong Finalist for MLB Award