Surprising NL lineup disrespects Cubs star PCA more than Counsell ever could

Crow-Armstrong needs to be much higher in the NL starting lineup.
Chicago Cubs v Minnesota Twins
Chicago Cubs v Minnesota Twins | David Berding/GettyImages

It took Craig Counsell a while to come around on the idea that Pete Crow-Armstrong was the star Chicago Cubs fans thought he was, but eventually he came to realize just how special this outfielder is. Crow-Armstrong might be the NL MVP winner if the regular season ended today; he's been that good, with 25 homers and 27 steals at the All-Star break to go with spectacular defense in center field.

His placement in Dave Roberts' National League lineup for the All-Star Game, however, seemingly ignores just how great of a season he's been having.

Yes, you read that right: The possible MVP favorite is hitting ninth in the order. To be fair, this National League lineup is absurdly loaded from top to bottom. Crow-Armstrong as a speed threat at the bottom of the order in front of Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. sounds awesome too. Still, in what world should he be batting ninth?

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NL All-Star Game lineup proves Pete Crow-Armstrong needs more respect

Crow-Armstrong ended the first half slashing .265/.302/.544 with 25 home runs and 71 RBI in 95 games for the Cubs. PCA ranks tied for fourth in the NL in home runs (25), fourth in RBI (71) and second in stolen bases (27). He also leads the NL with 4.9 fWAR. He strikes out a decent amount and doesn't draw many walks, but he's been one of the most valuable players in the sport.

I understand why this likely happened. Crow-Armstrong is the inexperienced young player relative to this loaded lineup of proven superstars. Still, should PCA not be hitting higher than ninth when he might walk away with the MVP award?

Ronald Acuña Jr. is great, and a Braves player (which matters when the game is in Atlanta), but he's played in 45 games all season. Freddie Freeman has Braves ties and happens to play for Roberts on the Dodgers, but he's hitting .203 with a .549 OPS since June 1. Do these two players in particular really deserve to hit higher than Crow-Armstrong with how well he's played all season long? I get that it's only an exhibition game, and the fans in Atlanta would certainly prefer to see Acuña and Freeman, but it's still an eye-opener.

All Crow-Armstrong can do is prove the doubters wrong in the Midsummer Classic. He did that with Counsell, and will hope to do so with Dave Roberts as well.