Following a tough loss in St. Louis, fans looking for a bright spot have found it in Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Chicago Cubs’ standout young center fielder. Through 78 games this season, Crow-Armstrong has posted exceptional numbers, demonstrating why his pace has become a major talking point in baseball circles.

With two doubles and a spectacular home run robbery in his latest game, Crow-Armstrong now boasts a 141 weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) and a 4.0 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), ranking him third across Major League Baseball and first in the National League. This level of performance, not even halfway through the campaign, suggests a season that could put his accomplishments among the best in Cubs history.

Historic Comparisons Highlight Crow-Armstrong’s Potential

If Crow-Armstrong sustains his current form through the remainder of the season, projections indicate he could finish close to an 8.0 WAR, a mark that would place him within the top ten best position player seasons ever recorded by the Cubs since the team’s inception in 1901. Only Hall of Famers Ryne Sandberg (1984) and Sammy Sosa (2001) have surpassed an 8.0 WAR in modern times, underscoring the exceptional nature of Crow-Armstrong’s campaign.

For comparison, past Cub stars such as Kris Bryant (7.5 WAR in 2016) and Derrek Lee (7.0 WAR in 2005) come close to this benchmark, while noted pitchers like Mark Prior (7.8 WAR in 2003) and Jake Arrieta (7.0 WAR in 2015) also serve as context for the level of impact Crow-Armstrong is currently having on the field.

Unmatched Combination of Power and Speed

Beyond his WAR metrics, Crow-Armstrong’s combination of power and base-stealing ability is virtually unmatched across Major League Baseball. Through 78 games, he has already hit 21 home runs—ranking seventh among all MLB players—and stolen 23 bases, which ranks him second in the league. Collectively, no other current player, including high profiles like Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Oneil Cruz, or Elly De La Cruz, has a higher total when combining homers and stolen bases.

Where Does Crow-Armstrong Rank Among Cubs Greats?

With 44 combined home runs and stolen bases so far, Crow-Armstrong is already among the top 60 individual Cubs seasons going back over a century. The significant question is how far he might climb by season’s end. Multiple methods of calculation can shed light on his potential final numbers.

• Per-game pace: Maintaining his current average of 0.273 home runs and 0.299 stolen bases per game with 84 games left would give him 23 additional homers and 25 stolen bases. This would total an astonishing 92 combined by season’s end.
• Conservative doubling: Assuming he plays 144 games total while keeping the same pace, Crow-Armstrong would finish with approximately 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases, totaling 88.
• ZiPS DC projections: More cautious estimates forecast 13 additional home runs and 20 more stolen bases, leading to a total of 77 combined plays for the season.

Based on these scenarios, Crow-Armstrong’s final combined home runs and stolen bases should land between 77 and 92, with an average projection around 84.5.

Setting New Benchmarks in Cubs History

Such a finish would position Crow-Armstrong at the very top of the Cubs’ all-time leaderboard for combined home runs and stolen bases by a single player in a season. He would edge out Sammy Sosa’s remarkable 1998 season, where Sosa hit 66 home runs and stole 18 bases, and surpass Ryne Sandberg’s outstanding 1985 campaign by more than four combined bases and homers.

Even hitting just the more conservative ZiPS projections, Crow-Armstrong would still conclude the year with the third-best combined total in Cubs history, comfortably ahead of Sosa’s 1995 effort. To crack the top ten, he needs only 18 more combined homers and stolen bases, which at his current trajectory is a highly achievable goal, accelerated by his consistent presence higher in the batting lineup every day, including against left-handed pitchers.

Reflection on Crow-Armstrong’s Remarkable Skill Set

One fan’s enthusiasm captures Crow-Armstrong’s unique blend of talents succinctly:

…he’s got the power, he’s got the speed….

—Anonymous

As Crow-Armstrong continues to deliver at this pace, his season will not only resonate historically within the Chicago Cubs franchise but could also redefine what is expected from young players combining power and speed in today’s game. Observers eagerly anticipate watching how the rest of the season unfolds, as Crow-Armstrong challenges long-standing marks and stakes his claim among the all-time greats in Cubs history.