Many different players have played a part in powering the Chicago Cubs' National League-best offense.
Star outfielder Kyle Tucker has been everything the Cubs could have hoped for when they acquired him from the Houston Astros this winter, already homering ten times and stealing ten bases in as many tries. Fellow winter acquisition Carson Kelly has been the best offensive catcher in baseball with a 1.114 OPS and eight home runs, while Seiya Suzuki has been among the game's best designated hitters with 10 home runs and a team-leading 34 RBIs. And while their numbers aren't quite as flashy, both Michael Busch (.836 OPS, seven home runs) and Dansby Swanson (nine home runs) have given the lineup length and delivered a number of clutch hits.
Yet even with all the established veterans hammering the ball around Wrigley Field, it has been a breakout 23-year-old who has been the team's most valuable player. In just his second full season in Major League Baseball, Pete Crow-Armstrong has made the leap from interesting young player to legitimate star, already accumulating 2.4 WAR thanks to ten home runs, 13 stolen bases, and the best center field defense in all of baseball. While he still chases over 40% of the time, PCA is squaring up the ball far more often than he did last year, as he has seen barrel percentage jump from 7.4% to 13.7%.
Crow-Armstrong's defense and baserunning always gave him a solid floor as a big-league regular, but his newfound power has vaulted him into the conversation of the National League's best players. While he may not be at the level of Shohei Ohtani, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly ranked him as the fifth most valuable player in the National League this season.
"Pete Crow-Armstrong has been one of the early breakout stars of 2025, and deserves the acknowledgement on lists like this," Kelly wrote. "PCA's great defense, basestealing ability and pop have made him one of the most fun players that the sport has to offer, and he's only 23 years old."
The next step in PCA's development will be learning to be more selective at the plate and improving a mediocre .302 on-base percentage that his limited his stolen base percentage. Given how much improvement he has made already, however, it seems to be only a matter of time before he becomes one of the best five-tool threats in all of baseball.
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