Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the most exciting players in baseball and, so far this year, he’s also been one of the most productive. For example, he entered Thursday’s game against the Brewers leading the NL with 4.3 WAR.
In the first inning, he sent this shot to the right-field bleachers, less than 24 hours after hitting one 452 feet off the video board.
Obviously that wasn’t quite as far, but it counts just the same. That was PCA’s 20th home run of the season in his 73rd game. It’s an impressive pace and educated observers are well aware of his all-around game, noting that he already has 23 stolen bases on the season. Yes, PCA is already a 20-20 player at age 23 in only 73 games, and the first in MLB to get there this year.
This means he’s the fastest Cubs player ever to reach that plateau. The previous record-holder was Sammy Sosa, who got to 20-20 in his 96th game in 1994.
If we dropped the Cubs qualifier, PCA is also one of the fastest players ever to get there. He’s one of the five fastest in MLB history:
1. Eric Davis, 46 games in 1987
2. Jose Canseco, 68 games in 1998
3. Fernando Tatis Jr., 71 games in 2021
4. Ken Williams, 73 games in 1922
4. Pete Crow-Armstrong, 73 games in 2025
Davis lapped the field here. He ended up with 37 homers and 50 steals that season. Otherwise, PCA is right in the ballpark of anyone else who has ever played in terms of how fast he got there this season.
Crow-Armstrong entered action Thursday hitting .270/.307/.550 (142 OPS+). He’s not a complete product just yet, as his 73 strikeouts against 14 walks illustrate, but he’s right now flashing the skills of an elite fielder, baserunner and power hitter at only 23 years old for the first-place Cubs. BetMGM odds have him behind just Shohei Ohtani in the MVP race at +800.
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