Chicago Cubs: PCA data suggests a monstrous 2026 may be on the way

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has turned heads very early this season with some very intriguing data points.

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By the account of some well-respected baseball analysts, PCA’s bat speed has ticked up considerably and he’s currently swinging the bat faster than anyone in MLB. As a matter of fact, his top-end bat speed right now is greater than that of any qualified player over the last two seasons.

Last season, the emerging young star, who just signed a 6-year, $115 million contract extension, blew people away with a stellar first half of the year before experiencing a significant fall over the second half. Overall, though, he finished 2025 with high-end stats that included 31 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases, as well as a Gold Glove.

PCA on the verge of even bigger things?

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Over the offseason, the 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong worked on the mechanics of his batting stance and is sporting a more balanced approach at the plate, which is likely leading to the faster swing speed. So far, though, his 6 hits this season have all been singles.

But increased bat speed is considered a harbinger of good things to come, across the board, for a hitter.

Evan Altman of Cubs Insider lays out the case for why increased bat speed is not only important for power numbers, but also for overall success at the plate:

“The thing about increased bat speed isn’t just that it will directly correlate to more home runs, but that it broadens a hitter’s margin for error. Every additional tick of EV correlates to around 7 feet of ball flight, which means carrying over a shortstop’s glove or past a leaping outfielder. And in a game decided by fractions of inches or seconds, hitting a ball even slightly harder puts that much pressure on the defense.”

A 50-home run season?

Driveline Baseball ops analyst Sam Ehrlich is estimating that PCA’s added 3.5 mph of bat speed—the greatest jump in all of MLB—could make for a 50 home run season if the trend continues.

PCA w +3.5mph of bat speed could be looking at a 50HR season. Small sample, but that is a massive gain https://t.co/KGhKX9jI2A pic.twitter.com/1SHZz2Es9l

— sam ehrlich (@SamEhrlich) March 30, 2026

Eno Sarris of The Athletic, using his own metrics, has arrived at the same conclusion that the young star is currently sporting a mighty swing:

“Pete Crow-Armstrong is swinging a powerful stick right now. Using our method, we find that he’s swinging more than 2 mph harder this March than he did in September. At Driveline Baseball, they are big proponents of bat speed training, and they were enthusiastic about PCA’s gains, even modeling what the increased bat speed would mean.

The real gains for the Cubs’ center fielder are probably smaller than this, but it also seems likely that last year’s 31 homers were not a mirage, and more might be coming this season.”

It’s wild to imagine that a 30+ home run season from the Cubs centerfielder in 2025 could actually be the just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what he’s capable of doing.

Of course, all of this actually has to play out on the field, But, still, it’s pretty exciting to think that the best of PCA may be yet to come.

The post Chicago Cubs: PCA data suggests a monstrous 2026 may be on the way appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-pca-data-suggests-a-monstrous-2026-may-be-on-the-way/