MVP hero or late-season struggle? Unpack Pete Crow-Armstrong's perplexing 2025 and predict his 2026 trajectory.
It was a tale of two halves for Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in 2025.
In the first half, Crow-Armstrong was playing MVP-caliber baseball. He slashed .265/.302/.544 with 25 home runs, 21 doubles, 71 RBI, and 27 stolen bases across his first 95 games and was a consistent force in Chicago’s lineup.
In the second half, Crow-Armstrong was a liability in the lineup. He batted .216 with six home runs, 16 doubles, 24 RBI, and eight stolen bases in his final 62 games. His numbers were even worse in the final six weeks, as he hit just .188 with four home runs from August 19 to the end of the season.
A big question surrounding Crow-Armstrong this offseason is how the 2025 All-Star is going to look offensively this season. Will he play more like the first-half MVP candidate or the second-half player?
Which version of Crow-Armstrong will simply show up in 2026?
The answer to that question is that both versions of Crow-Armstrong from 2025 will likely show up this season.
There’s no doubt that he has the talent to post another 30 home run, 30 stolen base campaign. Both his expected slugging (.475) and barrel rate (13%) ranked in the top 22% of the league last year, and Crow-Armstrong has shown that pop at the plate in the World Baseball Classic.
The Cubs outfielder hit two home runs in Team USA’s loss to Team Italy on Tuesday evening. He launched a towering 377-foot three-run home run in the seventh inning and then hit a solo 402-foot home run in the ninth inning to keep USA’s hopes alive.
That right there should give the Cubs a lot of confidence in Crow-Armstrong heading into the year. His approach seems to have changed a bit from last year, and he has the power to build off his career year offensively.
However, Crow-Armstrong will also go through his rough stretches at the plate. He’s a hitter who has been known to be aggressive, and that will result in some slumps throughout the year. Last season, the 23-year-old had a high chase rate (41.7%), a high whiff rate (28.9%), and a low walk rate (4.5%).
Until Crow-Armstrong improves in all of those areas, consistency will be a problem for him. Opposing pitchers threw in the zone on just 46.5% of his plate appearances in 2025, and the Cubs center fielder just chases too much outside the zone.
So, it’s logical that both versions of Crow-Armstrong will show up this season. He might not be on that MVP level again like he was in the first half, but he also probably won’t post as poor numbers as he did in the second half.
Crow-Armstrong will be somewhere in the middle between those versions this season. A 25-home run, 40-stolen base campaign is certainly attainable for the up-and-coming star in 2026.