MLB insider doubles down on tone deaf Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani MVP debate

Jon Heyman stirred up a firestorm in Chicago with his comments about Wins Above Replacement being imprecise for center fielders. It's convenient timing to make the argument that WAR is all of a sudden unfairly skewed toward center fielders, just when Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is mounting a strong MVP case against Shohei Ohtani.

Crow-Armstrong is enjoying one of the most productive seasons in Chicago Cubs history. And a big part of his MVP case is the fact that Crow-Armstrong is hands down the best outfielder in baseball, and it's really not even close.

Heyman recently doubled down on his claim that "WAR is imperfect" because center fielders get more opportunities to catch fly balls than corner outfielders. But this argument doesn't explain why Crow-Armstrong's 8.0 fWAR is at least four points higher than any other center fielder in baseball, other than the fact that he is just that good.

And if you don't want to use WAR, look at the fact that Crow-Armstrong already has 26 career five-star catches (a flyball between 0-25% catch probability), more than any outfielder since Statcast began tracking these plays in 2016. Eight of them were in 2026, and it's why his Outs Above Replacement (22) is also a whopping eight points higher than the next guy.

Look, I understand that WAR has its issues and no single stat should be the end-all, be-all of MVP voting. But arguing that Crow-Armstrong's MVP case is weaker because WAR unfairly favors centerfielders is just weak. His WAR and defensive numbers are high because he simply catches more balls that should not be caught than anyone else in the game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shohei Ohtani MVP debate will define rest of the season

So let's say we get to the end of the season and Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani's offensive stats are still comparable, like they are now. The question would then be whether the 14 games Ohtani started for the Dodgers are worth more than all of the things Crow-Armstrong brings to the table in almost every game.

To me (who is admittedly totally biased toward Crow-Armstrong), it's not a difficult decision. Crow-Armstrong can help his team win in more ways and more often than Ohtani can. Those things include Gold-Glove defense, a strong throwing arm that can cut down base runners or prevent them from moving up, and elite base running that can produce more runs. And in some cases, that base running can produce more wins too, as it did in a recent game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

And at 24-years-old, Crow-Armstrong does every one of those things at an elite level in every game he plays. To me, 1,300 innings of elite defense and base running are worth more than 85 innings of excellent starting pitching.

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