A left-handed compliment for Pete Crow-Armstrong — that makes all the difference in his MVP quest

Early last season, Pete Crow-Armstrong looked more like Pete Crow-Almora than a future Most Valuable Player.

When MLB.com reported in April of 2025 that Crow-Armstrong had declined a $75 million contract offer from the Cubs, it was just as bewildering that the Cubs would make the offer as PCA turning it down. At the time, Crow-Armstrong's development into a big-league star was hardly inevitable — he was hitting .224 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs in 152 big-league games, with a .280 on-base percentage, .354 slugging percentage and .635 OPS. His ceiling at that point was closer to Albert Almora — a first-round draft pick who had productive value, but was better known for his center field defense than his hitting.

As it turned out, that episode was a watershed moment in Crow-Armstrong's stunning transformation from struggling defense-first, big-league hitter into a superstar who is turning a Sosa vs. McGwire MVP battle with Shohei Ohtani — literally the Babe Ruth of his generation, or any generation for that matter — into a blowout. With that shaky resume, Crow-Armstrong responded by hitting .333 with 12 home runs, 24 extra base hits overall and 33 RBIs in his next 31 games — with a .352 on-base percentage, .748 slugging percentage and 1.100 OPS.

It was an impressive display of mental toughness that was the first indicator that Pete Crow-Armstrong had the "it" factor that could turn potential into stardom. He could have withered under the pressure of living up to the hype — and the reported contract offer. Instead he was better than ever. Crow-Armstrong was on his way to the All-Star Game and finished the 2025 season hitting .247 with 31 home runs, 37 doubles, four triples, 95 RBIs and 35 stolen bases in 43 attempts. And a Gold Glove.

That mental toughness would come in handy after a second-half slump and a slow start in 2026 (.225 with five home runs and 20 RBIs through 50 games) re-introduced some doubt about Crow-Armstrong's arrival as a perennial all-star. In mid-May of this season, most of PCA's breakout production in 2025-26 was compressed into one 43-game hot streak in 2025 (.314, 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, a .748 slugging percentage and 1.100 OPS. In the other the other 172 games (including the playoffs), his numbers were ordinary at best — .220/.275/.379/.653.

Sure enough, Crow-Armstrong responded again with a 43-game stretch heading toward the All-Star break that was even better than in 2025, hitting .373 with 16 home runs and 32 RBIs — a 1.220 OPS. But even after that hot streak put him in the All-Star Game and the MVP conversation, there was still room for doubt — could he sustain in the second half? In three seasons, Crow-Armstrong had a history of subpar performance in the second half — .225/.277/.361//639.

In what is now typical PCA style, Crow-Armstrong has laid that to rest as well. In the first 40 games after the All-Star break, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .262 with 15 home runs and 36 RBIs — slashing .262/.358/.646/.1.004. And the bigger the spotlight, the better Crow-Armstrong responds to the attention.

He reached yet another peak on Saturday when he hit three home runs went 4-for-6 and drove in six runs in a 17-5 victory over the Reds at Wrigley Field. It was a performance that highlighted a PCA improvement that is arguably the biggest indicator that he'll be able to sustain this level of performance, or close to it — his ability to hit left-handed pitching.

Crow-Armstrong started his latest highlight-reel day with home runs off Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott in the first and second innings and added a single off Abbott to lead off the fourth. PCA is now hitting .315 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs in 168 at bats against lefties this season — with a .416 on-base percentage, .583 slugging percentage and 1.000 OPS.

That's a huge improvement from last year, when Crow-Armstrong, even in a breakthrough season, hit .188/.217/.377/.594 against left-handers — seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 170 at-bats. And that's not all — not only did PCA take a giant leap vs. left-handers, but he's hitting better against left-handers this season than against right-handers (.266/.359/.559/918). Not even Ohtani does that.

Crow-Armstrong gets due credit for his improved plate discipline this season — his 71 walks are more than double the 29 walks he had last season. But his improvement vs. left-handers is arguably even more impressive — showing off an ability to learn that serves him well in every at bat regardless of the pitcher, and in everything he does on a baseball field. Even good left-handed hitters struggle against lefties until they get enough at-bats to figure it out. Anthony Rizzo did it. Kyle Schwarber eventually did it. Crow-Armstrong has figured it out faster than either of them.

As his latest showcase performance illustrated, PCA's improvement against left-handed pitching is going to be the key facet to his game that puts him over the top in the MVP race — just as Derrick Rose's underrated ability to finish with his left hand put him over the top as the NBA's Most Valuable Player over LeBron James in 2011. It's a great indicator, highlighting a trait that will help him sustain his performance even if he never reaches this kind of peak again — he learns well.

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