PCA returns to Midsummer Classic with second straight All-Star nod

CHICAGO -- For a second straight season, Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is headed to the Midsummer Classic.

The 24-year-old punched his ticket to this season’s All-Star Game, held in Philadelphia on July 14, with a June performance that inked him into Chicago’s history books. Crow-Armstrong hit .381 with 11 homers, five doubles, two triples, 20 RBIs and eight stolen bases to go along with a 1.249 OPS in 26 games last month.

That red-hot stretch raised his batting average 47 percentage points, and his OPS by 175 points, as Crow-Armstrong surged himself into the NL MVP conversation. He hit safely in 14 straight games and had 12 multi-hit games in June. Despite hitting only seven homers total in March, April and May, Crow-Armstrong’s surge has him tied for the seventh-most in the National League.

The Cubs, who extended Crow-Armstrong for six years and $115 million in March, were hopeful to have a few other All-Star candidates, but for now, Crow-Armstrong is the club's lone representative despite Chicago entering Saturday tied with the Phillies for the fourth-most wins in the National League.

But Crow-Armstrong, who leads Chicago in batting average (.287), homers (19), hits (95), stolen bases (21), on-base percentage (.374), slugging percentage (.526) and OPS (.900), is the type of player the Cubs want to promote their team.

“In Pete’s case, what’s fun to watch [about him] is that there’s something in every part of the game that he is able to do,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And he also does it as not a huge person -- he’s a pretty normal-sized person that can do it. And I think that also creates a connection with fans. And he’s an entertainer. He loves that part of it, he’s good at it. He’s naturally wired to do it, so you get a lot of it.”

Cubs fans witnessed that when Crow-Armstrong put together the 13th cycle in Cubs history on June 15 -- before helping the North Siders eventually walk-off the Rockies with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

But it’s not just the offensive side of the game, Crow-Armstrong is third in the Majors with 14 outs above average, trailing only Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr (17) and St. Louis’ JJ Wetherholt (17). Crow-Armstrong is tied with Wetherholt in fielding run value (16), and his arm value (three) is in the 99th percentile -- but it should not surprise anyone that the numbers back up one of the most impressive athletes to roam center at Wrigley Field.

It’s been a fast rise for Crow-Armstrong, who burst onto the scene last season, when he clubbed 31 homers in his second year as a regular. And he just keeps getting better, with the outfielder on pace to set career bests in hits, homers and batting average -- already setting a new high-water mark in walks (39) in 88 games this season.

The league will get to see that power, speed and defense on display during one of the biggest nights of the season on July 14, when he shares an outfield with Arizona’s Corbin Carroll, Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh, New York’s Juan Soto, Los Angeles’ Andy Pages, St. Louis’ Jordan Walker and Washington’s James Wood.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Previous All-Star appearances: 1 (2025)
Something to know: On target to join Sammy Sosa (1993-95) and Ryne Sandberg (1990-91) as the only players in Cubs history with consecutive seasons with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.