The Cubs' center fielder is shattering records with a historic 18-game power surge, pairing elite speed and home run production with league-leading defense.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is playing like an MVP candidate right now.
The Chicago Cubs center fielder has been the hottest hitter in baseball over the past few weeks. He is batting .447 with nine home runs, five doubles, two triples, 13 RBI, and six stolen bases over his last 18 games since May 30.
While those numbers might not look like anything special, Crow-Armstrong has made some MLB history in the process.
According to OptaSTATS, Crow-Armstrong is the first player in MLB’s modern era to tally 34 hits, five doubles, two triples, nine home runs, and six stolen bases in any 18-game span in a season.
It’s hard to really put into words how impressive Crow-Armstrong has been for this Cubs team lately. He is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball right now and is setting the tone at the top of the lineup.
Since manager Craig Counsell moved Crow-Armstrong to the leadoff spot back on May 23, he has shown noticeable growth at the plate. His walk rate is slowly climbing, and his batting average has increased 55 points from .228 to .283.
The 24-year-old has just looked like a completely different hitter over these last few weeks. His .364/.420/.747 slash line with 18 extra-base hits, 15 RBI, and six stolen bases since moving to the top of the order shows just that.
Crow-Armstrong also had another impressive offensive day in Friday’s blowout win over the Blue Jays. He went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run scored, one RBI, two walks, and two stolen bases.
Crow-Armstrong drew a four-pitch walk to start the bottom half of the first inning and then stole second base to get into scoring position with nobody out. Seiya Suzuki eventually brought him in, and the Cubs wound up scoring seven runs in the inning.
The 2025 All-Star started things off, and his teammates followed.
There’s no doubt that Crow-Armstrong has been one of the most valuable players in baseball this season. He’s posting strong offensive numbers while continuing to play top-tier defense in center field.
He’s batting .283 with 15 home runs, 38 RBI, and 18 stolen bases across 76 games this season. He leads all qualified hitters in slugging percentage (.747) since May 23 and is on pace for another 30-home run, 30-stolen base season.
Crow-Armstrong is also on his way to his second straight Gold Glove Award. The 24-year-old ranks first among all outfielders in Outs Above Average (15), Runs Prevented (13), Fielding Run Value (16), and five-star catches (6).
There are very few players as valuable as Crow-Armstrong. Only Shohei Ohtani (5.3) and Bobby Witt Jr. (4.5) have a higher WAR than the Cubs center fielder (4.2) this year.
