Insider says Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong is ‘MVP frontrunner’ over Shohei Ohtani

Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong is having one heck of a season. Not only is he one of the league’s best defenders in the outfield, but he’s also proving to be one of the most reliable hitters, too. While that may be the case, many believe the NL MVP Award is a lock for Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani.

Although the consensus is that Ohtani deserves his fifth career MVP, MLB insider Jon Morosi fully believes the award should go to the Cubs’ 24-year-old outfielder instead. Morosi pitched his argument during a Wednesday morning segment on the MLB Network, and even claimed that Crow-Armstrong is his frontrunner for the NL MVP.

“I said to myself, ‘What is the argument for PCA to win the MVP in the National League?’ As of right now, I will say Pete Crow-Armstrong is the frontrunner to win the National League MVP,” Morosi said. “If you look at the pure numbers Fangraphs WAR, even if you add up Ohtani as a position player, plus Ohtani as a pitcher, PCA is ahead of him because of the defensive values.

“So, think of other components here,” Morosi continued. “If PCA’s offense, plus PCA’s defense, in comparison to Shohei’s pitching and Shohei’s bat… Ohtani, we love watching him pitch. He does so many amazing things. Right now, he’s got fewer than 100 innings pitched, and we don’t know when he’s gonna be back on the mound.”

“As of right now, I will say Pete Crow-Armstrong is the frontrunner to win the National League MVP.”@jonmorosi highlights the @Cubs superstar and his elite combination of offense and defense ahead of today’s #MLBNShowcase presented by @Goodyear at 2pm ET. pic.twitter.com/9X9Z5dVrlg

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 5, 2026

Morosi also mentioned the top six WARs in MLB this season. Pete Crow-Armstrong stands at the top of the league with an impressive 7.0 WAR. Shohei Ohtani comes in second with a 6.2 WAR, which includes his hitting and pitching combined.

At the very least, the four-year veteran should remain in MVP talks for the remainder of the campaign. He enters Wednesday’s game against the Dodgers with 121 hits, 24 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases. Crow-Armstrong owns a .284 batting average and .384 OBP, which are both on pace for career highs, through 426 at-bats.

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