Jon Heyman Pete Crow-Armstrong leads a tight NL MVP race that goes beyond the stats By Jon Heyman Published Aug. 20, 2026, 5:29 p.m. ET Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) hits a home run against the Chicago White Sox. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect With apologies to the seven American League wild-card hopefuls separated by 2 ½ games — who all have losing records — the very best race continues to be for National League MVP.
David (Pete Crow-Armstrong) probably leads narrowly now, but Goliath (Shohei Ohtani) is literally warming up in the bullpen.
Cubs superstar Crow-Armstrong carried only slightly better-than-average overall batting stats (102 OPS+) into this season. But remarkably, PCA’s extraordinary improvement and enthralling two-way play give him a small advantage over the most extraordinary, enthralling two-way player ever, who also happens to be the only legit four-time unanimous MVP.
