One of the Cubs' biggest heroes has blown his projections out of the water

As the Chicago Cubs keep pushing for a playoff spot, there have been plenty of players over the last month or two who have been quite frustrating. Struggles offensively from Kyle Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong have all made fans nervous about the end of the season. And while PCA has had some problems at the plate of late, it's important to remember that his 2025 is already better than anyone expected it to be.

Entering the season, Crow-Armstrong's blend of speed and elite defense had him as one of the keys to the Cubs really entering the race for the postseason. But his power has been something that not even the experts saw coming. Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru of MLB.com laid out precisely just how much the young centerfielder has blown away his projections, which absolutely had him as a big part of Chicago's expected success.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has shattered his preseason Chicago Cubs projections

"The power surge caught ZiPS off guard, too," Sepe-Chepuru wrote. She pointed out that the Chicago Cubs star was initially projected for 16 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He already has 30 steals with more than a month to go in the season. His home run on Friday night bumped his total to 28 on the year. Well over what the experts thought he would do.

Last season, he got off to a rocky start before catching fire late in the year. That second-half breakout definitely led to some cautious optimism, both from the team and the fanbase, but few expected the monster 2025 campaign the young Cubs' spark plug has put together.

"Most of his value was expected to come from his defense in center, which clearly hasn't been the case," the writer added. "But that, too, has been better than anticipated; projected for 11.4 Defensive Runs Above Average, FanGraphs' own position-adjusted metric, he's up to 16.5."

In all, Pete Crow-Armstrong was projected to post a 3.5 fWAR, aided by a .727 OPS. So far, the Chicago Cubs outfielder has posted a 5.4 fWAR, and is boasting a .808 OPS. Hopefully, his homer in the series opener against the Los Angeles Angels shows he's starting to come out of his slump and can become the next Cubs 30-30 man at the absolute least.