Pete Crow-Armstrong has pushed the NL MVP conversation to the point where, in ESPN analyst Bradford Doolittle’s view, there really isn’t a conversation left.
The Cubs may have fallen short of the NL Central, but they’re headed for a Wild Card berth and are likely to lock up the top Wild Card spot and home-field advantage. A huge reason Chicago has been able to turn this season into a success despite shaky pitching has been Crow-Armstrong, who has erupted into one of the sport’s biggest breakout stories.
Doolittle said the race has already been decided. “The 2026 NL MVP race is over, and now PCA is racing against history,” Doolittle writes. He also said Shohei Ohtani, Jacob Misiorowski, Elly De La Cruz, Cristopher Sanchez, and every other star in the NL are nowhere near Crow-Armstrong.
By Doolittle’s AXE metric, Crow-Armstrong sits at 165.3, comfortably ahead of Ohtani’s 145.9 in second place in the NL MVP race.
That’s why Doolittle believes the finish line is effectively gone. Even if Crow-Armstrong were to strike out in every remaining at-bat, Doolittle sees no path where he doesn’t end up as the NL MVP.
Crow-Armstrong’s season has been loaded across the board. In 153 games, he has put up 9.6 bWAR with 115 runs scored, 167 hits, 29 doubles, eight triples, 44 home runs, 105 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, 78 walks, a .282 batting average, .581 slugging percentage, .956 OPS, and 159 OPS+.
The offensive line alone would make him a serious MVP candidate. Add in his league-best defense in center field, and Doolittle’s point becomes even harder to argue against.
Back in early August, the race still carried some uncertainty. That’s changed with Ohtani not pitching or hitting because of injury, and Crow-Armstrong has seized the opening. As Doolittle put it, the race is “over” already.
In Other News...
Former Cubs Draft Pick Just Lost His Shot At October
Rob Zastryznys season took another turn this week when the Milwaukee Brewers designated the former Cubs draft pick for assignment after a minor-league rehab assignment, closing the book on what had been a possible route back into a postseason bullpen. Injuries and a drop in velocity have clouded his 2026 campaign, and the timing leaves little room for another club to jump in and turn him into an October option.
For the Cubs, it is another reminder that bullpen help is more likely to come from within than from a familiar name elsewhere. Chicago has already been looking at its own internal arms for late-season support, with Gavin Hollowell among the pitchers in the conversation, while Zastryznys path now looks more like a reset than a race to the playoffs. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs' October Lineup Debate Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Dansby Swanson is expected back with the Cubs this weekend, and his return should give Chicago the kind of full-strength position-player group teams spend all summer trying to preserve for October. It also pushes the playoff conversation into a more interesting place, because the Cubs now have to map out how they want to balance their best defenders, their most dangerous bats and the matchups that can tilt a short series.
Michael Busch, Ian Happ and Michael Conforto are all part of that planning, and the shape of the lineup could change depending on whether the opponent is starting a right-hander or a left-hander. Once the games matter most, the question is no longer who belongs on the roster, but who gets the at-bats when every decision feels like it could decide an inning, a game or an entire series. [Read more 🡒]
Ian Happ Enters Free Agency With One Costly Question Hanging Over Him
Ian Happ is heading into free agency with the kind of rsum that usually plays well on the market, anchored by his defense and a reputation as one of the more dependable veterans in the Cubs lineup. The four-time Gold Glove winner has been a steady presence in Chicago, but the next chapter of his career comes with a lingering issue that front offices will not ignore: his struggles as a right-handed hitter.
For the Cubs, it is a familiar winter question about value, fit and whether a player can be trusted to stay in his current form. Happs split as a switch-hitter has fueled talk that he may eventually have to rethink that part of his game, and that uncertainty could shape what he gets on his next deal. Seiya Suzuki is also set to test the market, though his profile is expected to draw much stronger interest, leaving Happ in the more complicated spot of trying to sell teams on the player he is now and the version of him they hope still exists. [Read more 🡒]