Cubs Star Slugger Deemed 'Cornerstone Player' After Fantastic Stretch

The Chicago Cubs are off to a fantastic start to the season thanks to their young core taking a step forward and a couple of notable offseason additions.

With the summer months arriving, the Cubs have been able to prove that they are one of the best teams in the National League.

For the last several years, this has been a good team with 83 wins in each of the last two campaigns. However, they weren’t really a playoff threat last season and knew that they needed to get better in order to compete in the NL.

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With some of their young talent improving and couple of notable adds, the team appears like they have what it takes to be a contender. While they might look to make a couple of upgrades to the bullpen and starting rotation, the offense for the team has been fantastic.

As expected with a lot of success, there are some All-Star caliber players on the roster. However, one has started to emerge as one of the best young players in baseball.

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Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about emerging star Pete Crow-Armstrong as the cornerstone player for the Cubs.

“Crow-Armstrong is very much in the running for NL MVP, but did anyone view him as Chicago's most indispensable asset heading into the season?”

Coming into the year, there were certainly some high hopes that Crow-Armstrong could take a step forward after a bit of an up-and-down campaign in 2024.

The young outfielder struggled a lot at the plate at times last season, but was a threat on the bases and an excellent fielder. Chicago allowed him to work through his issues at the plate and he ended up finishing the year strong.

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In this campaign, he has taken his game to a completely different level. PCA has slashed .271/.305/.545 with 17 home runs, 55 RBI, and 13 stolen bases in 67 games.

The 23-year-old has emerged as a legitimate NL MVP candidate in just his second full year in the Majors, proving that he is one of the best young players in the league.

In terms of being the cornerstone of the Cubs, PCA is an easy choice. While they do have some high-level players, he is under team control through 2030, and is performing like a complete player.

If Tucker ended up staying with Chicago, this discussion could become more difficult, but as of now, it’s PCA who is their cornerstone player.

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