Pete Crow-Armstrong makes yet more Cubs history with second Player of the Month win

There's little else to say about Pete Crow-Armstrong at this point other than that he's authoring what will go down as one of the greatest seasons Chicago Cubs fans have ever seen. The 24-year-old has accomplished things the likes of Sammy Sosa, Ernie Banks, and more haven't managed over the past 150 years of the organization's existence, from being the youngest player in franchise history with a three-homer game to becoming the first to record back-to-back 30-30 seasons. Yet, August might be his crowning achievement so far.

When PCA is named National League MVP in November, August will be the month everyone will look back on as the moment he locked up his win. Not only did Shohei Ohtani not return to the mound to give him a challenge, but the center fielder responded by leading all of baseball in home runs with 14, including the aforementioned three in one game against the Cincinnati Reds. He and Alex Bregman also combined to become the first teammates with 5+ home runs, 25+ walks, 50+ RBI, and 50+ runs since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. During this stretch, he also became the first player ever to hit a lead-off and walk-off home run in the same game, followed by a lead-off homer the next day... at least until Randy Arozarena matched the feat against the Cubs.

The overall numbers didn't quite match the ludicrous highs of his monster 215 wRC+ in June, but they were still phenomenal: .280/.366/.703 with a 185 wRC+. Bregman certainly gave him a run for his money with a .296/.364/.661 slash line and 177 wRC+ of his own, but Crow-Armstrong was still good enough to earn National League Player of the Month honors for the second time. In doing so, he became the first Cub ever to receive the award two or more times in a year.

What makes it all the more impressive is remembering how slow a start PCA had to the year. He only had an 85 wRC+ through March and April, and while he was good in May, his overall stats were still far from Player of the Month-caliber, let alone MVP. The reason he's here is that from the start of June to the end of August, he's looked more like a left-handed Aaron Judge, with a .313/.410/.703/198 wRC+ line with 31 home runs in 368 plate appearances.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is on pace for some serious Cubs history

But the bat still isn't even the most recognizable part of PCA's game because of his center field defense. At 24 outs above average, he still sits atop the Statcast leaderboard in a tie with Bobby Whit Jr. The only other center fielder in his solar system, Cedanne Rafaela, has just 14. He illustrated just how historic his defense is back in July, when, despite having only a fraction of the playing time, he passed Kevin Kiermaier to set a record for most career 5-star catches at 33.

That defense combined with the bat and base-running has put Crow-Armstrong in a position to reach the stratosphere in a way no other Cub has. His 9.3 fWAR is not just far and away the highest in baseball: it's on pace to be the best in the team's history in nearly 100 years. At 0.066 WAR per game, he's currently on track to reach around 10.8, which would be the second-highest single-season mark ever for the Northsiders behind only Rogers Hornsby's 1929 season (11 fWAR). No matter what way you look at it, from advanced metrics to counting stats and individual accolades, this is an all-time season from a player at a premium position, and it could get even better if he reaches 40-40.

Although his $115 million contract extension hasn't even kicked in yet, PCA has already proven Jed Hoyer was more than right to put his trust in him. In fact, he's arguably made that contract feel a little underwhelming. There simply aren't many seasons like this in the history of MLB and especially the Cubs. The 2026 team has been a far-from-perfect roller coaster that's currently in the middle of an ill-timed slump, but we shouldn't lose sight of a season that only comes around once in a blue moon.

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