Pete Crow-Armstrong is now the OPS leader in the National League. The Cubs center fielder pushed his OPS to .930 on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, overtaking Shohei Ohtani — who had held the NL lead at .934 — by a razor-thin margin of roughly one-tenth of a percentage point. It is the kind of statistical milestone that puts Crow-Armstrong squarely in the conversation among the best hitters in the National League this season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong Leads the NL in OPS at .930
The margin separating Crow-Armstrong from the runner-up is just 0.1%, meaning this leaderboard position could shift again quickly. But right now, the number next to his name is the best in the NL, and that matters.
For context on how far Crow-Armstrong has come as a hitter: he posted a .768 OPS across 157 games in 2025, with 31 home runs and 95 RBI in 591 at-bats. He hit .247 with a .287 on-base percentage and a .481 slugging percentage that year. A jump to .930 OPS in 2026 represents a substantial leap in offensive production.
What This Means for the Cubs
Crow-Armstrong has been an active roster contributor for the Cubs since April 16, 2026, and his emergence as the NL's top OPS performer this deep into the regular season is a significant development for Chicago. The Cubs have a legitimate offensive centerpiece in their outfield, and the numbers back that up right now.
With the regular season in its final weeks, Crow-Armstrong will need to hold off Ohtani and the rest of the NL's top hitters to maintain this standing. Given the slim margin, every plate appearance counts. Keep watching this one.
