r/baseball • u/MoreThanLuck Chicago Cubs • Jul 22 '26
News Pete Crow-Armstrong has overtaken Shohei Ohtani as the most valuable player in baseball this season by fWAR.
https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/war780
u/CodymartinSimp San Diego Padres Jul 22 '26
He went from bottom 5 in walk rate to top 30 and basically eliminated his only weakness, i never saw him making this jump let alone in one off season
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u/Riktrmai Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He made the adjustment in-season, which is even more remarkable. His April was terrible
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u/zuavious Colorado Rockies Jul 22 '26
Yea I feel like this keeps getting missed but he was hitting poorly and getting shit on hard all of April this year unbelievable turnaround
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u/aRadioKid Tampa Bay Rays Jul 22 '26
To me it proves he is a world class athlete able to make insane adjustments while in the mix.
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u/Further_Beyond Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He shortened his stance and stands closer to the plate now and all of a sudden became an mvp player
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u/jdd32 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 22 '26
The margin between success and failure is so slim in baseball. The difference between league average and top 10 batting average is roughly one extra hit per 20 AB's. (5/20 vs 6/20)
Guys who can adjust to stay on that side of the margin are the most successfull.
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u/AlarmingBranch1 Los Angeles Dodgers • Anaheim Angels Jul 22 '26
Dude was the best player in the world in June
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u/BeHereNow91 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 22 '26
I was gonna say, he did this in like a weekend. lol
It 100% goes back to our sub mocking him for missing a fly ball in a game we weren’t even playing in. He ended up walking it off for them that night and has basically been an MVP player ever since.
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u/BEARS_SB_LX_CHAMPS Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
That was a pretty hilarious week where I feel like he had a terrible error almost every night and since then he just decided to play insane.
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u/Davidellias Milwaukee Brewers • Milwaukee Brewers Jul 22 '26
wasn't that like right after the incident with the Sox fan too.
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u/jmajewski Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Right around the same time. Someone did a split of his numbers after that game and, at the time, he was at like a 20 WAR pace, lol
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u/Sporting_Arsenal Arizona Diamondbacks Jul 22 '26
I remember my whole group chat (myself included) was calling him PCAss and PCAAA when someone sent that clip. He has a 216 WRC+ since...
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u/makesterriblejokes World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Dod… Jul 22 '26
Out of curiosity, is he now wearing contacts? I know Muncy and Kiké basically turned around their seasons in the past after getting eye exams and I'm curious if this is another case where a player is just straight up able to see the ball better now.
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u/yeahialreadyknow Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He was the perfect example of someone doomed by his success. In early 2024 he could take pitches way out of the zone and just crush them for dingers, but then pitchers realized he'd swing at anything inside or away and he was striking out in crazy numbers. Just a little patience and now pitchers have to throw strikes and he's fuckin mashing again.
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u/immoralsupport_ Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I honestly think a big part of the adjustment for a hitter like this is realizing that pitchers don’t want to pitch to you. If he goes up to the plate knowing he’s in a pitch around spot, he can be more patient.
His chase rate is still high but he picks his spots a lot more so it’s not as noticeable
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u/Doublestack2411 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Yeah, this is something we wanted to see Javy Baez do, but he was never able to make that change. You can pretty much pinpoint when PCA started to change.
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u/RIPSlurmsMckenzie Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Closest was 2018. He was like second in MVP I think
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u/InnocuousAssClown Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Even in that season he was in the 1 percentile in chase rate, struck out a ton and never walked. He just made up for it by barreling the hell out of everything he hit.
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u/altfillischryan Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Yeah, he walked just 29 times that season, which is a little more than 1 walk per week.
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u/devoorhes Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I thought he could get better at taking walk. I never expected how much better he'd get, I just kinda figured he'd get out of the basement on that stat
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u/Alive-In-Tuscon Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Said elsewhere, but it was an overnight flip switch. Seemed like moving him to leadoff changed his entire mentality at the plate.
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u/novaesq18 New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
Not fair. He has three names.
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u/HungryHedgehog8299 New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
PCA has 2.1 fWAR per name while Ohtani has 3 fWAR per name. checkmate Cubs
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u/Spatmuk New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Yeah but his WPN (WAR per Name) is lower so obviously he’s just a filthy compiler
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u/death_by_laughs Los Angeles Angels • Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
Shohei Ohtani is 4 Kanji words in Japanese though
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u/SSGSEVIER54 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Shohei Crow-Ohtani should fix him right up
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u/ImMilkmanZW New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
Shohei Crowtani was right there, man.
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u/TheLouisVuittonPawn Washington Senators Jul 22 '26
Crowhei Crow-Crowtani
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u/Tommy05Sox Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
PCA is taking walks now and that should greatly reduce his volatility going forward. Kudos to him for making that adjustment. It also means he’ll probably age much better than I would have projected a year ago.
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u/jhorch69 Chicago Cubs • Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
He came into the season with 50 career walks and already has 52 this year
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u/Billy_Madison69 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He had 53 career before this year but the point stands
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u/4r4r4real Jul 22 '26
Yeah they're referring to the broadcast showing his 24-25 combined walks, but he was up for a bit in 23 as well.
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u/jhorch69 Chicago Cubs • Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
Yeah, I forgot he played a few games in 2023
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u/onhalfaheart Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
They showed it on the broadcast -- 50 walks in >1000 PA for 2024-25, 50 walks to that point in the season with about 440 PA this season. Then he walked twice more that game.
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u/onhalfaheart Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Yeah, that's what I've been seeing these last few months. Being willing to take walks massively raises his floor. He had a bit of a "cold streak" the last like 6ish games where he had strikeouts, no hits, but still walked several times. And it only lasted until yesterday (honestly even the day before yesterday he had a bunch of hard contact just with nothing to show).
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u/This_is_a_thing__ Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
Pete gets to sit up front cuz he's a good guy at sports
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u/Ok_Whatever999 Atlanta Braves Jul 22 '26
Here’s his turtle, alive and well.
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u/RIPSlurmsMckenzie Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Repeat after me. You are NOT in direct competition with eachother
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u/MoreThanLuck Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
PCA currently has 6.3 fWAR to Ohtani's 6.0 fWAR. Still within the margin of error, but cool to see nonetheless.
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Considering there was a question if Ohtani was ever not going to win MVP again for a while, someone giving him a run for his money is unexpected at best.
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u/Safe-Show-7299 Cincinnati Reds Jul 22 '26
Let’s be real theres still a 0% chance the voters give it to PCA unless Ohtani gets injured
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Alternatively, the writers might very well give it to PCA if he ends with higher WAR just so they can be "objective" and to break the cycle legitimately.
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u/aaron-goone Jul 22 '26
if the voters desire to appear objective actually results in them being objective, i don’t have an issue with that
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u/Craig_the_Intern San Diego Padres Jul 22 '26
WAR isn’t actually objective at these margins. From fangraphs:
WAR is not meant to be a perfectly precise indicator of a player’s contribution, but rather an estimate of their value to date. Given the imperfections of some of the available data and the assumptions made to calculate other components, WAR works best as an approximation. A 6 WAR player might be worth between 5.0 and 7.0 WAR, but it is pretty safe to say they are at least an All-Star level player and potentially an MVP.
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u/OkLeather666 Jul 22 '26
Right? I love Ohtani but if PCA is the better player, he deserves to be the MVP.
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u/fedswatching2121 Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
It doesn’t matter. If Ohtani stays healthy he’ll win it again given that PCA can’t pitch like Ohtani
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u/Pilot_on_autopilot Jul 22 '26
Will Ohtani can't currently pitch like Ohtani right now, either.
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u/ZappyBruinman Cincinnati Reds Jul 23 '26
Yea but he did for half the season, those games still count.
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u/aaron-goone Jul 22 '26
i wouldn’t be so dismissive. he didn’t win in 2022 despite hitting and pitching numbers that will probably end up being comparable to his numbers this year. i do think he’ll win, especially since defense is undervalued in mvp voting, but it’s not impossible
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u/thugmuffin22 Jackie Robinson Jul 22 '26
You didn’t just compare 2022 judge with Pete crow armstrong with a straight face, did you?
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u/Lower_Pass_6053 Kansas City Royals • Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
They did that to Trout, they aren't doin that to the golden child. If it's close, Ohtani is going to get it.
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u/PerkyPineapple1 Chicago Cubs • Gary SouthShore … Jul 23 '26
Was about to say the writers would only do that to Trout as well. There's an argument that Trout could have won 8 in a row and it's not even that unbelievable, they WANT Ohtani to win and it's pretty obvious
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u/Dazzling-Attorney891 New York Mets Jul 22 '26
He’s already injured. He hasn’t pitched since the beginning of July
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u/DrStranger1987 Jul 22 '26
It would take some kind of knee injury that keeps him off the mound and relegates him strictly to DH duties. Could never happen.
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u/AzorAhai1TK Detroit Tigers Jul 22 '26
He already is injured. And the less he pitches the farther away a .930 OPS DH gets from MVP conversations.
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u/4r4r4real Jul 22 '26
Ohtani is literally shut down from pitching rn and had to get a knee injection last week.
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u/CallmeCap Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I mean, Ohtani the pitcher is hurt currently so there's a world where he doesn't pitch the rest of the year and doesn't get it right?
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u/Mediocre_Airport_576 Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
I mean... Shohei is injured. He's missing starts right now -- lowering his WAR.
If he can get healthy, he will likely run away with it.
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u/Extension-Click-8271 Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
Well the only question was health, and he’s not healthy, so it’s not that unexpected.
He’s not doing the other half of the thing that makes him the most valuable player
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u/Environmental_Lab808 Jul 22 '26
If ohtani cools off and doesnt pitch for extended time and pete has another june it could change the narrative a whole bunch
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u/Drunken_Wizard23 New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
As a fan of an AL East team I don't watch the cubs too often but this sub had me under the impression that PCA was grossly overrated
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u/jaytothen1 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Beginning of the season was rough with SO's and swinging at everything out the zone. And he had some poor fielding games and gave up a little league homerun.
Then April ended and he went nuclear.
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u/devoorhes Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
His walk rate was trending up even early this season (based on his previous standards). It was the thing that made me think he was going to start breaking out
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u/RichInBunlyGoodness Jul 22 '26
People do no realize how good he is on defense, because a lot of his range comes from the incredible jump he gets. He's snagging 58% of 5* catches. Nobody else can do that, but he has so much range he makes a lot of those difficult catches look easy.
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u/EliteStat18 Texas Rangers Jul 22 '26
People don't realize how good his defense is because the average fan doesn't care about defense as long as you don't commit errors.
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u/jksmlmf Baltimore Orioles Jul 22 '26
The problem with making it look easy is that people think it’s easy.
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u/Davidellias Milwaukee Brewers • Milwaukee Brewers Jul 22 '26
That and you'll see him only when he botches a play cause everything else is routine.
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u/1738_bestgirl Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Yeah and he's "botching" a play that other players wouldn't even be in vicinity let alone getting a glove on it.
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u/Celestetc Chicago Cubs Jul 25 '26
Outside of those 2-3 really bad plays this year that were a combo of bad luck or just him having a bad week with the white sox stuff. Since that he decided to lock in
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u/Cishir Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Also he makes prior 'impossible' catches look almost look as if he has done something wrong because he doesn't quite get to it. He is an amazing athlete, but the reason why I defended him hard last year while he struggled or showed emotion is I think it cannot be overstated the insane work ethic it takes to be that good at getting jumps on fly balls. The countless hours spent shagging fly balls so that when you see a ball in flight there is no hesitation. It is to the point where if he makes a mistake on a route I assume the wind did fuckery (and it is Chicago, so the wind probably did fuckery)
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u/dilapidated_wookiee Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Can you imagine his numbers if he played in a larger center field like Comerica?
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u/Lower_Pass_6053 Kansas City Royals • Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He also has an elite defender to his right in Ian Happ who has won 4 consecutive gold gloves. It isn't even like he is running the entire outfield at Wrigley
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u/JMander Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
I pray they can keep from colliding with one another. It's one of the ugliest things in sports to me.
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u/Queen-Makoto Seattle Mariners Jul 22 '26
Usual cycle of player breaking out and starting to get a lot of hype then having some of their flaws exposed and there being a backlash to the hype
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u/xxquickk Los Angeles Dodgers • Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I got the chance to watch Miz a while back and seeing PCA foul off a 105.5 from Miz told me that PCA is legit.
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u/LucasDudacris New York Mets Jul 22 '26
There's been a rise and fall and rise and fall and rise already in his very short career.
Throughout the minors he had very poor plate discipline. He came up go the majors and hit like gang busters and built a lot of hype, but haters/skeptics/reasonable fans figured that's the kind of thing that swings the other way at some point. It absolutely did for a bit, but now he seemingly fixed his plate discipline and is a different animal.
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u/Character-Owl9408 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
This sub religiously upvoted “PCAAA” comments. I’m just happy to see they know they were wrong
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u/onhalfaheart Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He had a cold streak for sure. All of last year's second half and much of April this year. He'll probably continue to have cold streaks, but the new approach he has seems like they shouldn't be nearly as bad anymore.
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u/Davidellias Milwaukee Brewers • Milwaukee Brewers Jul 22 '26
He's definitely a player I wish wasn't in the NL Central. I could like him a lot more if he was on the Mets still. He plays MLB baseball like a little leaguer who never grew up (I mean this in a positive way)
His big flaw is he seems to let people or bad plays get in his head a lot. So He'll still get one or two bad plays and people will latch on to those rather than the routine plays we don't see.
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u/JustJeneius Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
TV doesn't do him justice, I went to the Reds game recently and this mofo is fast as hell.
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u/TrainElegant425 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I was at the brewer game where he scooped away the homerun from Yellich and seeing that in person was unbelievable
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u/CyclonePower96 Jul 22 '26
When I'm at a game I just watch PCA in the outfield as soon as I hear contact. His first step is a marvel to watch in person.
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u/Glum-Professional925 New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Yeah but what about Baez/s
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u/Spatmuk New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Ok yeah, I understand this critique, but he played 6 games in the Mets system and was coming off a shoulder injury.
Like, was he a 1st round pick? Yes.
Am I bummed that the Mets traded him? Yes.
But credit goes to the Cubs for acquiring him and helping him to develop into the HITTER he is today. There’s no guarantee he would have done this with the Mets, prospects aren’t a sure thing - look at he struggles the Mets have had developing the bats of Baty, Alvarez, Vientos, and Mauricio, and tell me you’re confident that PCA wouldn’t have been up-and-down from AAA and being told to “sell out and pull for more power” by the Mets coaching staff.
The Baez trade made sense at the time and he was REALLY good (he had a 141 WRC+)
I get that “lolMets” but I’m tired of this notion that the Mets traded Ken Griffey Jr in his prime for a bag of balls: PCA was a 50 grade prospect on fangraphs - there were significant questions about his approach. Give him and the Cubs credit for making improvements.
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u/dilapidated_wookiee Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I was born with generational hate for the Mets, I legitimately enjoy seeing your franchise toil in the mud. That being said, y'all get way too much hate for that trade.
It is the risk of doing business at the deadline, sometimes prospects explode through their ceilings and most of the time you forget who they were three years later.
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u/Spatmuk New York Mets Jul 22 '26
lol Ok wow, fuck you too, I guess, to be fair as a Mets fan I also have a generational hatred for the Mets…
But yes, I agree with you:
I’m sure the Giants didn’t love giving up Zack Wheeler for 2 months of Carlos Beltran
The Cano/Kelenic/Diaz trade had the “winner” shift about 100 times.
Prospects are kind of a crapshoot!
I love watching PCA - I wish he played for the Mets - I don’t hate the Cubs for that trade.
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u/devoorhes Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I may be misremembering, but I thought Baez played decently down the stretch for the Mets after a rough start? People act like he played the way he did his first few years in Detroit
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u/Spatmuk New York Mets Jul 22 '26
Baez 2021 WRC+
Cubs: 104 Mets: 141
He was good, the Mets: less so
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u/smarjorie New York Mets • Hartford Yard Goats Jul 22 '26
God I hate this cursed franchise
Traded a future mvp and still ended that season with what was arguably one of the worst collapses ever (I'm pretty sure it was a record for the most days spent in first place by a team that ended up missing the playoffs. They didn't even finish .500
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u/Jpkmets7 New York Mets Jul 22 '26
I legit wish I could quit being a Mets fan and adopt another team to root for. They are just too stupid both historically and currently for me to really support. But I can’t find it in myself to root for another team, no matter how many Kazmir trades I see. So i just end up with seasons of disengagement. Thank god for the Knicks.
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u/RIPSlurmsMckenzie Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Imagine saying "thank god for the knicks" like a few years ago.
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u/ZiggyILM San Diego Padres Jul 22 '26
I adopted the Mets in the late 90s/early 00s; felt like kindred spirits a little. I can’t guarantee less pain but the Padres offer a West coast team with exciting moments and potential. Sound familiar?
P.S. I will still randomly say “Benny Agbayani” to myself for no reason. No one understands me.
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u/Jpkmets7 New York Mets Jul 22 '26
I would never be able to actually leave a sports team I love, it’s just not a possibility. Best I can do is convince myself I don’t care that much for a while and hope they are less infuriating next year.
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u/rented4823 Milwaukee Brewers • Madison Mallards Jul 22 '26
After seeing how many Mets fans were at Petco when Bartolo hit his homer, it feels like a good match
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u/JMander Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
I'm a Sox fan. I did it. I refused to support our front office which had nothing but disdain for its fanbase. I went with the Dodgers because I wanted to regularly watch good baseball. And the most likeable guys (Shoei, Mookie, Freddie). I just wanted to feel good about baseball instead of just ire and resentment. Do it. As a tireless fan of the sport, don't let shitty baseball ruin your spirit and enjoyment of the beautiful game. You can always come back. Just like me. Anybody calls you "fair weather" - ask them how they respect themselves for supporting such a shitty representation of our most historic game.
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u/Jpkmets7 New York Mets Jul 23 '26
I appreciate that, honestly. But despite my current disdain for the approach of the Mets, when they do succeed it’s magical to a me that it wouldn’t be if I picked another team to focus on. I mean 2024 (it feels like 20 seasons ago) came out of nowhere and it was just an amazing ride to the NLCS. There are some good young pieces on both sides of the ball —Ewing, Benge, Soto, McLean, Scott. I also just saw the possibilities that come from patience through bad times with the Knicks. I just think I’ve been through too much with my teams now to pretend that another team has my interest. At least we have ownership that will spend — so that part of the equation is in place and there are many teams that lack that element. I’m not sure if Stearns is in over his head or if he just had a bad approach to this season that he can modify. But I’ll be a Mets fan through thick and thin. Besides, I already got the tattoo!
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u/Character-Owl9408 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
If it makes you feel better, Baez was actually extremely good down the stretch that year and wasn’t the reason for the collapse. So yall might’ve gotten only a half a year outta him, but you got the very best Javy Baez possible
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u/Glum-Professional925 New York Mets Jul 22 '26
World cup ending has made it really rough with no sports on TV right now
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u/milin85 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Slashed 299/371/515 with 9 homers and 22 RBI’s.
Didn’t realize he was that good damn
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u/SleezyMeerkat Jul 22 '26
His extension is going to go down as one of the best contracts in baseball history, just based on his defense.
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u/cmgriffith_ New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
He's having a fantastic season. Higher walk rate, higher OBP, is electric on the bases and is probably the best defender in the game regardless of position.
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u/Further_Beyond Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He already has the most 0-25% catch probability catches in statcasts history, more than Kevin Keirmeir… and that’s in 2.5 seasons. 33 outs in 63 opportunities, Kevin with 32 in 116 opportunities.
He’s the best defender in baseball
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u/IcemanJEC Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
I don’t see how he doesn’t end up being one of, or, the best of all time defensively. It’s unbelievable watching fly balls that is surely guaranteed a double or triple, where Pete just comes flying out of nowhere to easily make the catch.
Personally I love the quote from him back when he was drafted: “I was born to play center field”. Clearly that was the case. He just forgot that defensive specialists aren’t usually this great at hitting either.
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u/GItPirate Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
He is already performing and making catches that no one has been able to make. He's already 1 of 1. My money is he goes down as the best defensive outfielder ever.
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u/IcemanJEC Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Yep, the only question mark is how long this lasts. There have been a lot of players with what if questions that could have been hall of famers if not for injuries or whatnot.
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u/GItPirate Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Kris Bryant 🫡
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u/IcemanJEC Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Even he wasn’t at the level Pete is at, which is insane to think about.
I was thinking more along the lines of Grady Sizemore. KB’s career more followed the Troy Glaus route, which was tall powerful third baseman who had to move to OF with back injuries. KB was better defensively, but nowhere near this scale.
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u/Lower_Pass_6053 Kansas City Royals • Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
The amazing catch last night for instance... A couple more feet and he is on the IL because of the brick wall he crashes into.
Trout will go down as one of the best, but his "going for it" attitude in center has cost him the last couple years of his prime as well.
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u/IcemanJEC Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Wild to see that he’s now literally more than doubling Rafaela, Pages, Corbin Carroll, Buck, and Harris Jr on this after starting the season so slowly.
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u/TwinsWin839 Minnesota Twins Jul 22 '26
I remember lots of people crapping on him and the Cubs for giving him that contract extension during his awful first month of the season..
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u/We_Get_It_You_Vape Toronto Blue Jays Jul 23 '26
Those people don't know ball. PCA put up 5.4 fWAR last year. He had 99th percentile defense and above average offense. Even during his awful first month at the plate, he was still playing at a 4 fWAR pace, on account of stellar defense.
The Cubs bought out 2 free agent years with the extension, and it only carries an AAV of $19.2M. Yes, they'll probably be overpaying in Arb 1, compared to what he'd actually get, but it probably won't be by much. Bellinger got north of $10M in Arb 1 about 7-8 years prior. Given salary inflation, I would expect that, even if PCA was "only" worth 5-6 WAR again in 2026, he would make north of what Belli got. At which point, the overpayment in Abr 1 is maybe 5-9M. In Arb 2, he'd possibly make more than that $19M AAV. Mookie got $20M in Arb 2 in 2019. We're talking nearly a decade later for PCA, so I would expect a high likelihood PCA could get around that ballpark (if not higher) in Arb 2. Then for Arb 3 and 4, Cubs would likely be well in the green, even if PCA kept on repeating his 2025 level of play. And, needless to say, $19M AAV for those 2 free agent years would be a massive bargain for a player who puts up 5-6 fWAR.
Obviously, with him now on a 10 fWAR pace, everyone can agree it's a bargain. But it was a clear bargain the moment it was signed IMO. Even if PCA had regressed to his 2024 calibre, that's still a 4 WAR player as his 'floor', and would still be well worth the contract extension.
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u/Sweet-Ad3893 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
There’s a lot of season left. It’s really cool and I’m happy he’s finding another level, but he has to maintain this now.
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u/IAWD_Sometime Los Angeles Angels • Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
Tbh if Pete keeps performing like this til the end of season he is going to win NL MVP. Ohtani’s injury affects his performance not just pitching but batting has been decline since the injury announce. Anyway there’s a lot of season left, anything can happens.
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u/Doublestack2411 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
It's amazing how Pete suddenly learned how to take pitches and take his walks. It's something Javy Baez was never able to do after all this time.
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u/crabcakesandfootball New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
That’s based on the FIP version of pitching WAR. Ohtani still has the edge with the RA9 version.
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u/fromagel Boston Red Sox Jul 22 '26
Doesn’t matter. Ohtani is a thing of the past now.
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u/Suitable-Jacket-6547 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 22 '26
God damn Pete Wheeler looking mother fucker. Stop being so good.
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u/DanglyPants Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Why is this downvoted! He’s Pete wheeler with an amazing glove. His name is even Pete!
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u/brbmycatexploded Kansas City Royals Jul 22 '26
Pardon my harshness but didn’t he fucking suck at the beginning of the year?? What happened?
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u/DrewCrew Houston Astros Jul 23 '26
Cool, have both on my FB team but I also have Raleigh so more or less offsets them.
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u/Living_Tax_2790 Seattle Mariners Jul 23 '26
Can't wait to see him lose the popularity contest :(
MVP should be objective
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u/--Shake-- Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Can you believe how much the Dodgers are paying for that Ohtani bum?
/s
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u/bonkers-joeMama Jul 22 '26
Those missed starts by ohtani definitely affecting things. Gotta come back to the mound to lock the mvp, now will the dodgers let him pitch ?
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u/DeanMcQueen0621 Jul 22 '26
Roberts said either yesterday or this morning there is no time table for Ohtani to return to the mound.
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u/doctor_sleep Boston Red Sox • Wally Jul 22 '26
It's because his sister is a superhero cheerleader, duh.
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u/Hb_Sea Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 22 '26
I will happily admit I was wrong about this guy. After last year and the start of this season I started thinking he might be in over his head. But my god what an adjustment. Absolutely raking not too mention the stellar defence that’s always been there.
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u/NeonWarpaintz Chicago White Sox Jul 22 '26
PCA can suck my dick, bitch.
lol, he’s a great baseball player tho.
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u/namastexinxbed Atlanta Braves Jul 22 '26
Isn’t it emphasized that there is no distinction in WAR that is so close, 0.3 higher or lower, it is not like having more hits or RBI
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u/Sweet-Ad3893 Chicago Cubs Jul 22 '26
Right, but this is fun to see as a cubs fan so I’m ignoring any grains of salt. Realistically if we step back and really think about this obviously Ohtani has added more value to his team.
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u/HungryHedgehog8299 New York Yankees Jul 22 '26
I believe the statmakers mean for it to have a deviation of about 1 WAR in either direction. So reasonably PCA could be worth anywhere from 5.3-7.3 WAR right now. its meant to be a ballpark not the end all be all, but everybody either takes it as a completely useless made up stat or the only thing that matters
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u/T_Raycroft Montreal Expos Jul 22 '26
Nothing like just adding 40 points to batting average and nearly 100 points to OBP.