Pete Crow-Armstrong tied for the National League home run lead on Sunday, September 20, 2026, blasting his 45th homer of the season to pull even with Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. The 24-year-old outfielder — active for the Cubs since April 16 of this year — has vaulted from a 31-home run campaign in 2025 to an elite power threat in 2026, putting his name at the very top of the NL leaderboard with roughly two weeks left in the regular season. That is a number that demands attention league-wide.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2026 Home Run Surge: By the Numbers

The jump from 31 home runs in 2025 to 45 in 2026 is not a small step — it is a significant power spike by any measure. A year ago, Crow-Armstrong posted a .247 average with a .481 slugging percentage across 157 games, turning in 591 at-bats and hitting a home run every 19.06 at-bats. Those were solid numbers for a player who was also contributing 35 stolen bases and playing elite defense in center field, but they did not hint at a 45-homer pace.

Whatever adjustments Crow-Armstrong has made in 2026, the results are undeniable. Forty-five home runs puts him 11.1 percent clear of the next closest NL competitor not named Schwarber, who matches him at the top. That margin matters. A tie for the league lead this late in September is not a fluke of a hot week — it is the product of a sustained, season-long breakout.

Crow-Armstrong vs. Schwarber: The Race to the NL Crown

Sharing the top spot with Kyle Schwarber is no small thing. Schwarber has been one of the premier power hitters in the National League for years, and the fact that Crow-Armstrong — who only shed his rookie eligibility in 2024 — is standing right alongside him at 45 home runs tells you everything you need to know about how dramatically his game has evolved.

Both players sit at 45. The calendar reads September 20. There are games left to play, and whoever finishes on top of that leaderboard will walk away with one of the most coveted individual offensive titles in baseball.

What Makes This Milestone Significant

  • Crow-Armstrong's 45 home runs in 2026 represent a jump of 14 home runs over his full 2025 season total of 31.
  • He is tied for the NL lead, with the data confirming his margin sits at 11.1 percent over the next closest non-tied competitor.
  • In 2025, Crow-Armstrong hit a home run once every 19.06 at-bats — his 2026 pace is running well ahead of that clip.
  • He has been on the active roster and contributing since April 16, 2026, making this a full-season effort, not a late surge inflating his numbers.

What Comes Next for Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs

The final stretch of the 2026 regular season now carries a specific subplot worth tracking every single day. Crow-Armstrong and Schwarber are deadlocked at 45, and neither player nor their respective clubs — the Cubs and the Phillies — will be ceding ground quietly.

For Crow-Armstrong, winning the NL home run title outright would be a landmark individual achievement in what is shaping up as the best offensive season of his young career. He already proved in 2025 that he could be a multi-dimensional weapon — power, speed, and defense rolled into one — and the 2026 version has taken the power element to a different level entirely.

The Cubs are playing this stretch of the schedule with Crow-Armstrong firmly established as one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League. Forty-five home runs says so. A tie for the NL lead says so. The rest of September will tell us whether he can stand alone at the top.