The Cubs took over first place on April 4 and have been there ever since, building as high as a four-game lead in the NL Central and currently holding a two-game lead over the rival Cardinals. One huge reason for that ascent? Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
“PCA is a staple piece right there, he’s a star in the making,” former Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler told CBS Sports.
At just 23 years old and after a disappointing rookie campaign, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .290/.325/.585 (153 OPS+) with 12 doubles, three triples, 12 homers, 38 RBI, 36 runs, 14 steals and 3.1 WAR. Even after being drafted in the first round by the Mets in 2020, it was hard to see this coming. And yet, let’s look at National League MVP odds right now, via Caesars:
How about that, huh? He’s ahead of players like Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, Francisco Lindor, Bryce Harper and Mookie Betts in MVP odds past the quarter mark of the season.
That WAR, by the way, trails only Aaron Judge (3.7) in all of baseball. WAR isn’t the only important stat, of course, but it does incorporate every aspect of a player’s game and that is a big deal with PCA. He’s one of the best defensive players in baseball, is an utter terror on the basepaths and is hitting for both average and power right now.
“I love the way he plays outfield,” Fowler said. “I’ve talked to him a bunch, his mindset is there. He wants to have fun, he wants to win and he’s perfectly set to be a Cubbie. He’s the type of dude you want out there.”
He is. He’s been so good this season that he’s on track to be the first Cubs’ center fielder to make the All-Star Game since Fowler himself in 2016. Remember what else happened in 2016 in Wrigleyville? Oh right, that little World Series championship. The Cubs made the NLCS in 2017 but haven’t been back since. They haven’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2018.
Fowler recognizes something in this group that leads him to believe another deep run is possible.
“They’ve done a good job with putting a great product on the field and now they have a team with a good chance to go deep into the playoffs if not winning it all,” the 14-year MLB veteran said.
The Cubs are 28-19 with the most difficult strength of schedule in baseball and a +70 run differential. They have one of the best and most well-rounded offenses in baseball, as they rank fifth in the majors in doubles, tied for first in triples, third in home runs, tied for first in steals, third in walks, fifth in sacrifice flies and second in runs scored.
Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon used to tell Fowler that “you go, we go.” Now, Chicago has found another center fielder to hold them all together.
Fowler, of course, retired after the 2021 season. He’s done studio work for Marquee Sports Network and has now teamed with former NBA player Jamal Crawford for a live look-in show called the “Crawcast” on MLB Network Tuesday. The program will be the first baseball telecast, a spinoff from the “Courtside Crawsover” basketball alternative broadcasts, and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will be among their first celebrity guests.
“Jamal Crawford came to me and wanted me to be a co-host with him on the NBA crossover, so I’m like ‘let’s do it,'” Fowler told CBS Sports. “It turned out great. Fans can be a fly on the wall. We’re just sitting here talking games and talking shop.
“We’ve got celebrity guests coming on, we’ve got guys and girls from different sports coming on just to get their point of view and just have a conversation and let the fans delve into our minds.”
The comparisons to Peyton and Eli Manning’s Monday Night Football show are obvious, except that this broadcast will jump around between 13 different MLB games.
“100% [like ManningCast in football],” Fowler said. “We’ll talk baseball, we’ll talk other sports in general because when we’re sitting in the locker room or the clubhouse, we sit there and talk about if we could do this or that. We talk about our love for baseball, our love for basketball and we also talk about situations during the games.”
