The last two National League MVP awards have gone to Shohei Ohtani unanimously, but he finally has a worthy challenger in 2026.
That man is Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is having a marvelous season for the Chicago Cubs.
On Monday, Crow-Armstrong willed the Cubs to a thrilling 7-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field, going 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs, three RBI, a walk and a stolen base.
He bookended the Cubs' win with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first and a walk-off homer, becoming the first MLB player since Vic Power in 1957 to slug a leadoff homer on the first pitch his team saw and a walk-off homer on the last pitch his team saw.
The 24-year-old superstar is now up to 30 homers, 31 steals and a .929 OPS. His .402 wOBA leads the NL, while his 7.7 WAR are the most in baseball.
Ohtani has similar offensive numbers and his pitching production as well, so he'll be tough to beat in the MVP race if he stays healthy. If PCA gets hot down the stretch and gets to 40/40, however, it may be too close to call.