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Shane Bieber last faced the Rays on July 23rd in what was potentially an audition to acquire the veteran pitcher. In that game, he scattered three hits and a single run as Toronto won the contest 3-1. The Jays did some buying and selling at the deadline, and Bieber remained with the club to the detriment of the Rays as he once again disposed of the lineup with ease in a 5-1 Toronto win.

Bieber once again went seven complete innings scattering four singles while allowing a sole unearned run scored by Chandler Simpson. Simpson reaching on a single while advancing to second on an error by Ernie Clement was about the only thing that went the Rays way in a contest where the 63-66 team was in complete control of the division-leading 76-51 club. Consider this game saw each of the following events:

• Ian Seymour was a pitch away from an immaculate inning to begin this game until Alejandro Kirk spoiled the fun spitting on an 0-2 changeup and then making Seymour throw eight more pitches in that plate appearances before collecting yet another hit in this series. Kirk has been a modern day Ben Francisco to Andy Sonnanstine situation for the Rays pitchers this season.
• George Springer drove in two runs on a ball that left his eviscerated bat at 42.4 miles and took nine hops through an indecisive infield:

• Daz Cameron hit a titantic 442-foot blast into the D-ring in the 5th inning, which was the third of three solo shots allowed by Ian Seymour in the game. Ironically, Cameron’s last major league home run came 442 days ago on June 4th, 2025:

• Yandy Diaz has now seen at least 2000 pitches this season, and has yet to challenge a single one. It remains the longest such streak in baseball. While he did single later in this at bat, the 0-1 fastball that was called a strike was, in fact, not one:

Diaz not challenging pitches is still better than batters wasting challenges on 1-2 pitches with nobody out in the 3rd inning as Nick Fortes did on a pitch that was fully in the strike zone. Teams get two challenges a game and this was a foolishly wasted one:

Simply put, this was a miserable game to wrap up a miserable homestand. The only two wins of the homestand centered around fielding miscues for an offense that scraped together 30 runs over 7 games while the pitching staff and defense permitted 47 runs.

The team heads off to Baltimore, who has given them fits all season. The Rays took what was supposed to be an advantageous portion of the schedule with sub-.500 teams coming into Tropicana Field and played arguably some of their worst baseball in some time.

Alternatively, for the alliteratively-minded: Braves snap skid and salvage series as Holmes spins six scoreless in the South Side.

Before first pitch, all things are possible. No matter our current gripes we have with the team or their performance, the time leading up to the commencement of the baseball contest fills us with a cautious hope. It’s a new day with a sparkling new chance for the Atlanta Braves to win.

So it was extra deflating when, upon replay review, Ronald Acuña Jr. did not reach first base in time for an infield single after all, leading to the first out of the ballgame. This was followed by quick outs by Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson for yet another scoreless first frame. Bummer (not Aaron). But worry not, folks – Braves pitching and the bottom of the batting order would be the heroes in today’s 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Atlanta drew first blood this afternoon courtesy of the wheels of Mauricio Dubón and the bat of Austin Riley. Dubón led off the top of the third with a single off of Anthony Kay. Riley hit a rocket of a double to left, and Dubie’s speed on an audacious send by third base coach Tommy Watkins helped the Braves take a 1-0 lead.

Dubón’s nice 3-for-4 afternoon continued with a single (plus a fielding error by left fielder Sam Antonacci that allowed him to reach second) to lead off the fifth. However, this time he’d be left stranded.

We must tip our collective caps to Grant Holmes. The pressure cooker of the skid, an offense recently incapable of helping their starter out of small deficits, and the clamor for him to be moved to the bullpen could’ve gotten to our curly-haired king. He bounced back in a major way by holding the White Sox hitless through six innings before allowing a single in the seventh. Up to that point, the only baserunners for the White Sox came on the three walks scattered in the second, sixth, and seventh.

The palpitations were certainly high in that sixth inning from Holmes: Munetaka Murakami had grounded out twice before, but came to the plate with Drew Romo aboard. A wild pitch would move Romo up a base, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Grant buckled down with the afternoon’s best slider to get Murakami swinging. No-hitter intact!

The White Sox inadvisedly left Anthony Kay in for the top of the seventh, which they immediately regretted when Michael Harris II doubled to right on the second pitch he saw. Former Met Huascar Brazobán came in and got Dubón to fly out, allowing Harris to get to third. Austin RBI-ley knocked Harris in with a single up the middle to make it 2-0. Sean Murphy followed it up with a 103.2 mph single of his own. But the rally petered out after Brazobán and new reliever Hagen Smith got Ronald and Baldwin to strike out swinging, respectively.

The Braves had both Brent Suter and Didier Fuentes start to throw during the sixth, but Holmes jogged out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh. I fully rewrote earlier parts of this recap because I’d assumed Grant was going to go out on a high note. But with 83 pitches, a lead, and a no-hitter going, it seemed Weiss and company were going to let it ride on a batter-per-batter basis. Unfortunately, Miguel Vargas worked a leadoff walk before Andrew Benintendi ended the no-hitter and Holmes’ afternoon with a single to left.

Didier Fuentes came in tasked with preserving the lead and Holmes’ final line and did so in phenomenal fashion: back-to-back-to-back strikeouts of the non-brothers Montgomery (Braden and Colson) and Chase Meidroth. The way Sean Murphy calls pitches for Fuentes makes me feel things.

Hagen Smith and Dylan Lee pitched a very quiet eighth frame for both sides. Trevor Richards got Harris to fly out to start the top of the ninth. Dubón got his third hit of the day with a single to right before Riley struck out. Two wild pitches during Murph’s at-bat would get Mauricio on third base, but Sean grounded out to send us to the bottom of the ninth with a 2-0 lead for Raisel Iglesias.

A well-rested Iggy barely gave us time to worry: a groundout for Murakami, strikeout of Vargas, and strikeout of Benintendi on twelve pitches put the Braves back in the win column and denied the White Sox a delayed sweep.

Instead of a happy flight, the Braves will board a happy bus to Milwaukee to face the Brew Crew. The Pokemon card collectors Chris Sale and Jacob Misiorowski will face off in tomorrow afternoon’s series opener starting at 4:10 pm ET.

The Cincinnati Reds are likely to miss the MLB Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to make a late push to earn the final wild card spot in the National League after missing the playoffs the last three years. The two teams played a rare five-game series this week with tons of drama. On Monday, Red outfielder Dane Myers hit the game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Reds an improbable win. On Thursday, his crucial error allowed the Cardinals to steal a victory they had no business getting.

The Cardinals trailed the Reds 5-3 going into the ninth inning on Thursday. St. Louis promptly exploded for six runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, but game should have ended before they ever had a chance to do that. Myers had the final out of the game in his glove, but a sunny day and some confusion in the outfield produced a wild error that allowed St. Louis to take the lead. Watch the play here:

In Play: Run(s) 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/5kJrYJUjRI

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 20, 2026

Calling off your teammate only to drop the ball … yikes. Myers simply has to make that play.

Baseball is the cruelest sport. You’re the hero one day, and the goat the next. Myers learned this lesson the hard way.

The Reds came back and scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. The Cardinals won, 10-9, to win their fifth straight series. The bats came alive for St. Louis late, and it sure helps when the opposite gives you another out.

6 RUNS IN THE 9TH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cG8dhydwBc

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 20, 2026

The Cards are 2.5 games behind the Padres for the third and final wild card spot. San Diego won a thriller against the New York Mets earlier this week behind some heroics from Fernando Tatis Jr., but the Cards aren’t giving up. St. Louis still has to run down the Arizona Diamondbacks before it can pass San Diego, but the way this team is playing lately, anything is possible.

The Reds wasted a grand slam from Matt McLain in the loss. There’s a lot of painful things that can happen on a baseball field. Dropping the final out and then losing the game because of it might be as bad as it gets. This feels like the sort of thing that should only happen to the Mets, but there are plenty of other bad baseball teams out there. The Reds are one of them.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In this week’s Reacts survey, we asked fans if they think the Brewers can finish the season with the best record in baseball and/or set another franchise record for wins in a season. The results were clear, but there were still some dissenting votes:

With 110 votes, 66% voted yes to both, followed by 18% voting for neither, 11% saying franchise record only, and 5% saying best record only. Given that the Brewers currently own the best record in baseball and are on pace for roughly 99-100 wins, it probably isn’t much of a surprise that most fans said all or nothing to this question.

If the Brewers are able to hit 98 wins, they’ll break the franchise record of 97 victories (set last season), and they’ll also easily be in the running for best record in the league. Hitting the 100-win mark seems like the “safe” number for best record in baseball with roughly 35 games to go for every team.

What do you think? Can the Brewers hit 100 wins? Have something else you want to say? Keep the conversation going in the comments, and be sure to check out FanDuel Sportsbook for all your betting needs.

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Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Texas Rangers lineup for August 20, 2026 against the Washington Nationals: starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for the Rangers and Andrew Alvarez for the Nationals.

It is the series finale, and the Rangers will be trying to clinch the series with a win. Jacob deGrom, who left his start a week ago today with triceps tightness, is on the mound for Texas. The Rangers are using the same lineup they used Tuesday, when they scored runs, and not the lineup from Wednesday, when they did not score runs.

The lineup:

Langford — DH

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Nimmo — RF

Duran — LF

Foscue — 2B

Jansen — C

Freeman — 3B

Carter — CF

7:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -175 favorites.

Before even talking to Rochester Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy, I could feel his presence. When I got to Rochester, two things became very clear to me. First was that I needed to try a “Garbage Plate”, Rochester’s signature dish. Second was that Matt LeCroy was a beloved presence as the Red Wings skipper.

When Paul Toboni took over as Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations, he made sweeping changes, particularly in the Minor Leagues. However, there is one face that remains unchanged, and that was LeCroy. The charismatic 50 year old with a comforting southern drawl returned for his 18th year in the organization and 5th as Triple-A manager. 

When you sit down with LeCroy, you quickly figure out that he is the perfect minor league manager. His dynamic personality and fatherly wisdom makes him capable of uniting a Triple-A clubhouse where players are constantly coming and going. However, he is also very open to new ideas and has no ego. As Seaver King put it, Lecroy is “the ultimate player coach”.

Being a player first manager is something that LeCroy takes great pride in. At the Triple-A level, it can be tough to manage players. In many ways Triple-A is the intersection of dreams and disappointment. There are young prospects like Seaver King who are on their last stop before reaching their big league dream. Meanwhile, there are also veterans like Riley Adams who are looking to re-establish themselves and get back to the show.

LeCroy has found a way to gain not only respect, but love from both of those players who have such different backgrounds. Riley Adams, who was the Nats back up catcher the past few years said that LeCroy, “Has a lot of great feel and knows how to keep things fun. Sometimes baseball can get a little monotonous but he always keeps things fresh”. 

For LeCroy, managing every player is different, as they are each their own person. However, he does tend to manage young players differently than veterans. For younger players, he said he likes to try and keep them even keeled while teaching them to trust the process. Meanwhile, for veterans he tries to challenge them and work on things that held them back at the big league level.

The cases of Adams and King are two great examples of that. Riley Adams is a power hitting catcher whose contact skills and plate discipline have let him down. This year in AAA, his chase rate is only 24%, down from 31% in the big leagues last year. Even when he was in AAA in 2024, that chase rate was 27%. With the help of the new front office, LeCroy has helped Adams stay engaged and make tangible improvements that could make him better the next time he gets a shot in the big leagues.

With Seaver King, he plays the game at 100 MPH at all times. LeCroy admires the “old timey” nature of King’s game. However, he is probably one of those players that needs to stay a bit more even keeled. The ability to slow one player down while also being able to push others is a great trait that LeCroy possesses. 

Being able to truly manage players is one of the keys to being a great Triple-A manager. When LeCroy managed at the lower levels, a big part of his job was actually teaching young players how to play the game the right way. However, things are different in AAA, where players are knocking on the door of the big leagues. As he put it, “Here in Triple-A, these are grown men fighting to get to the highest level. I try to be honest and fair. I do not have many rules but there is an expectation that I want you to play a certain way”.

The shadow of the Major Leagues hangs over the Triple-A level at all times. Players are coming and going all the time and reaching the top of the baseball world is constantly on their minds. LeCroy said the biggest challenge of managing at this level is “dealing with mindsets and keeping people where their feet are”. Through many years of experience, Matt LeCroy has found a way to do that.

For LeCroy, the most rewarding part of his job is telling people they are going to the big leagues. In fact, just a couple days after I left, he made one of his famed call-up videos, telling Erik Tolman he was headed to the show. He met with the 27 year old, who has had to battle through many injuries over the years and at first he asked him if he wanted to pitch in winter ball. Eventually he let his down the mask, and told Tolman he was headed to the MLB.

He told me that his favorite call-up was when he told Trey Lipscomb he was going to the show a couple of years ago. Throughout our interview, LeCroy spoke glowingly about Lipscomb who has had a huge bounce-back year, hitting 25 home runs for the Red Wings. In Lipscomb’s call-up, he had the whole clubhouse together and told Trey he would have his own room on their trip. However, the reason for that was because he was going to be a big leaguer. The whole room erupted and it was a wonderful moment to watch.

Trey Lipscomb is a big leaguer … just like we drew it up. 🥲

@tlips03 + @RocRedWingspic.twitter.com/0sYnghkJSs

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) March 31, 2024

As this young core of Nationals players rose through the minors, they all crossed paths with LeCroy. He managed the likes of James Wood, CJ Abrams, Cade Cavalli, Daylen Lile and Dylan Crews among others. Having managed those players, he admitted that he was not overly surprised to see the offense humming. 

The big league level is not the only place where we are seeing a lot of offense though. Rochester has also been much improved offensively, and overall. The Red Wings have the best record in the International League under LeCroy this season at 73-47. LeCroy also got his 1,000th career managerial win this season.

1,000 WINS FOR SKIP! 🏆 🔥

Matt LeCroy has officially reached 1,000 career wins as a manager!

A milestone built on years of leadership, passion and plenty of victories along the way.👏 pic.twitter.com/lD3XeoDH7a

— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) August 13, 2026

All the talent coming through Rochester has helped but another factor is the growing coaching staff. The Nats have more coaches at the minor league level this year, with two hitting coaches, two pitching coaches, multiple trainers and strength coaches, as well as a quality control coach. LeCroy called this a “really big help” and said it lets players get more individualized training. He also said he is in much more consistent contact with the big league staff this season, talking to bench coach Michael Johns at least once a week.

The combination of this new staff and the man management skills of LeCroy have the Red Wings humming. When I saw the Red Wings this weekend, I saw a group firing on all cylinders with great pitching and tremendous power on display from Seaver King and Trey Lipscomb. At a level where it is hard to get players to buy in, Matt LeCroy has mastered the art of managing at Triple-A. Is that what he wants to do forever or does the charming veteran want to achieve his own big league dream one day?

Blue Jays 5 Rays 1

What a nice game. It never seemed to be in doubt, even though we didn’t really blow the Rays out.

Shane Bieber was terrific. Likely the best we’ve seen him in a Blue Jays uniform.

He went seven innings, allowing just four hits, no walks with seven strikeouts, with just the one earned. He threw 101 pitches, getting to 100 for the first time as a Jay. Really no complaints about his game at all.

Spencer Miles pitched the eighth, a clean inning. Louis Varland got the ninth, allowed a hit and a walk, just to make sure we kept watching.

On offense? Well, we had three home runs. Kazuma Okamoto (number 26 on the season), Nathan Lukes (number 7) and Daz Cameron (crushed, 105.8 mph and 442 feet). Cameron had two hits, as did George Springer and Okamoto. Myles Straw had the only 0 for, an 0 for four with two strikeouts.

A lot was made of the 1 for 11 in RISP, but the homers really helped out.

There was bad news, Andrés Giménez came out of the game with “right hamstring tightness’. Hamstring tightness sponsored this series with him, Bateman and Josh Smith (tho he stayed in yesterday’s game, but didn’t play today). I hope he isn’t out long, his glove has been amazing and he seems to be hitting the ball well lately.

It was good to see Clement back in the lineup after missing yesterday being ‘under the weather’. He might be even more important if Giménez has to be out of the lineup.

They say they will wait until tomorrow on Giménez, hoping he’s better.

Nathan Lukes made a super catch in right at the wall, with a runner on and no outs in the seventh. Without that catch, I doubt Bieber would have finished seven.

Jays of the Day: Bieber (0.27 WPA), Cameron (0.14) and Okamoto (0.10).

Other Award: Straw (-0.12).

Tomorrow it is the Yankees. TBA vs. TBA. They say Spencer Arrighetti will either start or be the bulk guy tomorrow. Which means we’ll get more roster moves.

Mets first baseman Mark Vientos has been scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Binghamton on Friday, Aug. 21, when the Binghamton Rumble Ponies take on the Altoona Curve at 7:00 p.m.

Vientos has been sidelined since fracturing his right hand against the Kansas City Royals on July 9th, hit by a pitch thrown by righty starter Michael Wacha. 

In Vientos' place, Jared Young has been extremely solid at first base for the Mets. In fact, since July 10th of this year, Young is slashing .322/.380/.500, tallying 12 RBI and clobbering two dingers in the process. Young also grades out as a better fielder and baserunner than Vientos, according to the Statcast metrics used by Baseball Savant.

Vientos took batting practice and participated in fielding drills with the rest of the Mets on Wednesday, Aug. 18.

A timeline for Vientos' eventual return to the big-league roster has not yet been announced.

Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the first in the Crosstown Classic with a home run. Then he walked off the game with his 30th home run, which locked in back-to-back 30-30 seasons. For good measure he started the next game with (you guessed it) a home run. Let’s rewatch that walkoff again [VIDEO].

It’s been an electric show of offensive and defensive prowess on the North Side of Chicago from the 24-year-old who’s improved his on-base profile so much at the plate this season. I’ve written extensively about the metrics that show PCA is the best defender in the Statcast Era and his new approach at the plate this season, but it’s worth demonstrating the latter one more time. You can see how he’s reset the floor in this 15-game rolling wOBA graph from FanGraphs:

In case charts and numbers aren’t your jam, PCA put on a clinic during the Dodgers series demonstrating that he has just as good of a case as Shohei Ohtani to be the 2026 MVP. As of writing this column, PCA is the favorite to win the award:

"I think Shohei is still the MVP, however [Pete Crow-Armstrong] is catching up very quickly."

—@Kurkjian_ESPN on the MLB's NL MVP race 👀 pic.twitter.com/gqLYXmWBpQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 5, 2026

The MVP debate is everywhere. ESPN polled 20 players, 15 voted for Pete Crow-Armstrong. You can hear the takes on your favorite podcast, read them in The Athletic, or just check out this compelling case made by our own Tortuga Cub here at BCB earlier this week. Tortuga concludes:

He’s the Frontrunner, and a Worthy One

I think it’s easy to look at the MVP race and say, well, with Ohtani off the mound for so long, PCA is basically a fallback option.

But while there is truth to the idea that Ohtani’s health has opened the door, as unless Ohtani threw some real stinkers his pitching would catapult him ahead in the race, PCA’s MVP case is one of the strongest we’ve seen in the NL in decades. 

He’s still on pace for more than 10 fWAR, a feat we haven’t seen achieved in the NL since Barry Bonds.

A 10 fWAR season is no small feat, in fact, it’s such rarified air it demands we take a step back and look at the season PCA is putting together from a historical lens rather than the lens of a single season.

We are witnessing one of the greatest Cubs seasons of all time:

Season	Name	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	BB%	K%	ISO	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	BsR	Off	Def	WAR
1929	Rogers Hornsby	156	712	39	156	149	2	12.22%	9.13%	.299	.382	.380	.459	.679	.497	172	-0.8	77.5	16.8	11.0
2001	Sammy Sosa	160	711	64	146	160	0	16.32%	21.52%	.409	.336	.328	.437	.737	.465	186	-0.9	78.8	-1.1	9.9
1959	Ernie Banks	155	671	45	97	143	2	9.54%	10.73%	.292	.279	.304	.374	.596	.409	147	-1.0	38.9	32.4	9.7
1967	Ron Santo	161	697	31	107	98	1	13.77%	14.78%	.212	.313	.300	.395	.512	.400	153	-1.1	39.7	22.0	9.5
1958	Ernie Banks	154	682	47	119	129	4	7.62%	12.76%	.301	.297	.313	.366	.614	.416	151	-0.4	42.8	19.3	8.7
1964	Ron Santo	161	686	30	94	114	3	12.54%	13.99%	.252	.328	.313	.398	.564	.417	164	-0.7	48.8	6.9	8.7
1966	Ron Santo	155	672	30	93	94	4	14.14%	11.61%	.226	.315	.312	.412	.538	.412	157	-0.7	43.8	11.0	8.5
2026	Pete Crow-Armstrong	128	570	31	90	79	31	11.93%	27.02%	.271	.344	.279	.378	.550	.396	154	5.4	42.1	21.2	8.3
1930	Hack Wilson	155	709	56	146	191	3	14.81%	11.85%	.368	.342	.356	.454	.723	.499	169	0.0	78.5	-11.9	8.0
1984	Ryne Sandberg	156	700	19	114	84	32	7.43%	14.43%	.206	.348	.314	.367	.520	.390	142	3.6	36.4	16.7	8.0
1955	Ernie Banks	154	646	44	98	117	9	6.97%	11.15%	.300	.273	.295	.345	.596	.406	142	1.0	34.9	23.5	7.8
1906	Frank Chance	136	574	3	103	71	57	12.20%		.112		.319	.419	.430	.415	160	6.2	42.6	6.8	7.7
1965	Ron Santo	164	704	33	88	101	3	12.50%	15.48%	.225	.299	.285	.378	.510	.390	146	0.2	36.8	11.0	7.7
1886	King Kelly	118	534	4	155	79	53	15.54%	6.18%	.146	.413	.388	.483	.534	.475	177	3.6	66.3	-1.0	7.6
1912	Heinie Zimmerman	145	619	14	95	99	23	6.14%	9.69%	.199	.400	.372	.418	.571	.461	162	-0.3	50.6	3.1	7.6
2016	Kris Bryant	155	699	39	121	102	8	10.73%	22.03%	.262	.332	.292	.385	.554	.396	148	2.7	44.3	7.0	7.5
1906	Harry Steinfeldt	151	625	3	81	83	29	7.52%		.104		.327	.395	.430	.402	152	0.6	34.8	10.6	7.5
1908	Joe Tinker	157	609	6	67	68	30	5.25%		.124		.266	.307	.391	.338	119	2.6	14.3	32.7	7.5
1896	Bill Dahlen	125	573	9	137	74	51	11.17%	6.28%	.200	.368	.352	.438	.553	.456	147	4.1	47.5	17.7	7.4
1992	Ryne Sandberg	158	687	26	100	87	17	9.90%	10.63%	.206	.308	.304	.371	.510	.391	148	0.9	36.7	10.9	7.4

WAR is a counting stat, you compile or lose it over the course of playing games. So it’s a little mindblowing to look at this table and realize that with 34 games left to play this season Pete Crow-Armstrong already has the 8th best season in Cubs history by fWAR. Look at the seasons he’s flirting with: Sammy Sosa’s 2001 season that saw him hit 64 home runs and finish second in MVP balloting to Barry Bonds. Sammy’s .328/.437/.737 would be one of the most incredible seasons in baseball history were it not compared to Bonds who compiled 12.5 fWAR that season as he set the single season home run record with 73 long balls and an absurd .328/.515/.863 slashline.

Performance-enhanced seasons aside, with 100-140 fewer plate appearances than Ron Santo, Ernie Banks and Rogers Hornsby, Crow-Armstrong not only looks like he belongs in the “this is obviously a top 10 all-time Cubs season” conversation, he looks like he’ll surpass some of them. I had to do a double take looking at this chart realizing PCA has already surpassed Ryne Sandberg’s 1984 MVP season. On his current trajectory FanGraphs various projection systems would put him at the fourth or fifth best season in Cubs history:

What’s wild about those projections is how conservative they are. Every single one of them projects regression for PCA, and of course they do. A leap from an OBP of .287 to an OBP of .378 in a single season just isn’t a thing most hitters do in MLB. The thing is, this looks like a real approach change at the plate, and if that’s true, it’s likely more sustainable, which would make the ROS projection of a worse OBP and lower walk rate less likely. To demonstrate the change I ran the chart from before, but overlayed OBP with PCA’s O-Swing, the number of pitches he swings at out of the strike zone:

Let’s look at some more basic counting stats, however. As Josh noted in BCB After Dark a couple of nights ago, PCA could be on the cusp of one of the rarest of MLB feats: a 40-40 season. From Josh:

Only six players in MLB history have ever had 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season. They are

Jose Canseco (1988) 42 HR, 40 SB

Barry Bonds (1996) 42 HR, 40 SB

Alex Rodriguez (1998) 42 HR, 46 SB

Alfonso Soriano (2006) 46 HR, 41 SB

Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) 41 HR, 73 SB

Shohei Ohtani (2024) 54 HR, 59 SB

Obviously Ohtani is the only member of the 50-50 club.

No Chicago Cub has ever recorded a 40-40 season.

Cubs fans are witnessing greatness day in and day out at the corner of Clark and Addison. PCA has leveled up his game in the span of 1,646 career plate appearances to develop from a glove-first defensive wizard with a strikeout problem and big questions about whether he’d be able to access the power he flashed in the minors to the NL MVP favorite putting together one of the best seasons in the 150-year history of the Chicago Cubs. Enjoy every second of it.