Entering August, the National League MVP race appears to be between Los Angeles Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani and Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
However, Crow-Armstrong might’ve taken the lead after his huge outing against the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Through five innings, Crow-Armstrong had three hits with two home runs and four RBIs as the Cubs had a 6-1 lead.
Ohtani started the scoring with a solo home run, but Crow-Armstrong answered right back in the bottom of the first inning with a solo shot of his own.
Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong both hit their 25th home runs of the year in the first inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/FjfUATukMt
— MLB (@MLB) August 5, 2026
As such, fans wasted no time claiming that Crow-Armstrong should be the MVP, or at least the frontrunner as of this moment.
The NL MVP is Pete Crow-Armstrong. The best player in baseball is also Pete Crow-Armstrong. #Cubs
— Noah Deutsch (@n_deutsch19) August 5, 2026
I think Pete Crow-Armstrong just locked up the MVP over Shohei Ohtani.
— Brandon Koretz (@BrandonKoretz) August 5, 2026
Monster head-to-head performance.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is the NL MVP and you can’t convince me otherwise
— Hank Moody (@Ajzel98) August 5, 2026
Pete Crow-Armstrong has to be the MVP front runner.
— Carson Wolf (@TheWrigleyWire) August 5, 2026
He’s up to 7.9 fWAR, 26 HR, 28 SB, 22 OAA through 115 games.
Unreal. Unbelievable. All of it. pic.twitter.com/i1dwEwdZmf
Entering the game, Crow-Armstrong had a .284 average with 24 home runs, 65 RBIs and 28 stolen bases.
After his first-inning home run, the Cubs outfielder became the first player in franchise history with consecutive seasons of 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases.
With his 25th home run today, Pete Crow-Armstrong is now the first player in Cubs history with consecutive 25-HR, 25-SB seasons.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 5, 2026
As of August 4, Ohtani was just ahead of Crow-Armstrong in the latest NL MVP race, according to ESPN, but the Cubs star might’ve flipped the script after his massive game.
So far, Crow-Armstrong is showing he was worth every penny of his six-year, $115 million contract extension, and the Cubs are looking like an NL playoff team.
The Cubs held on to win, 7-6, but Ohtani hit another home run in the eighth inning to bring the Dodgers within one run. Over the next few weeks, the NL MVP debate between Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani should be fun to watch, although the next time these two teams meet would have to be in the playoffs.
