In a season chock full of ridiculous games from Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, Friday night might have been the most ridiculous yet. PCA got his team on the board early with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth. But he saved his best for late, with a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the seventh to spark Chicago to a 10-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
In all, Crow-Armstrong finished 3-for-5 with two homers and six RBI, upping his OPS on the season to .908. Oh, and he has 14 steals, tied for third-most in the NL. Oh, and he's arguably the best defensive center fielder in the sport.
Suffice to say that few players in the league have touch PCA's ceiling when he's firing on all cylinders. But somehow even that's an understatement: Crow-Armstrong doesn't just have superstar upside; he has the sort of upside that puts him in rarefied air in baseball history.
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Pete Crow-Armstrong showing Cubs just how special his ceiling really is
Right now, Crow-Armstrong's 14 homers and steals across Chicago's first 51 games puts him on pace for a 40/40 season. Only six players in MLB history have joined that club — and only one of them got off to the sort of start we've seen from PCA: Barry Bonds, who puts up 14 homers and steals across the Pittsburgh Pirates' first 51 games back in 1992.
Bonds fell short of the 40/40 club that season, largely thanks to an IL stint that limited him to 140 games. But he still cruised to his second NL MVP nod in three years, leading the Majors in OPS and WAR. (Here's your occasional reminder that, even before the steroid allegations, Bonds was a historically special player.)
That's the kind of company we're talking about here. There are still kinks for Crow-Armstrong to iron out; he's still a very free swinger, and the league might catch up to him at some point if he can't refine his approach. But players with this much pop, this much athleticism and such strong defensive instincts come around only a few times in each generation. The Cubs have one of them still just entering his prime, and they should enjoy every bit of it while it lasts.
Of course, 1992 was also Bonds' final year in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates lost him to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster free agency sweepstakes that December. No pressure, Jed Hoyer.