North Side Baseball's Cubs Hitter of the Month - March/April 2025

[Brian Kelder]

What a fun start of the season the Cubs lineup has had. They have the highest-rated offense in the National League, and they've made this article exceedingly hard to write. How do you pick an MVP from this squad? Is it the perennial MVP candidate? The upstart, breakout center fielder? The catcher who has seven home runs already? Good problems, these are.

The Cubs offense is absolutely on fire. The team batting average is .263, second only to the Yankees. For long stretches of the last few years, the club has hit too few home runs, but they now rank fourth in the majors with 42. As a result, they rank second in OPS with a hearty .799. By any measure, this offense is clicking.

Without further ado, the candidates for North Side Baseball's Cubs Hitter of the Month:

Honorable Mention
Seiya Suzuki (.298/.368/.596) 
Rate Stats Pace: 38 HR, 135 RBI, 92 Runs

Michael Busch (.284/.382/.537)
Rate Stats Pace: 27 HR, 86 RBI, 81 Runs

These guys had to be mentioned, as they've been spectacular. Look at that pace for Seiya! For Busch, keep in mind that he's lost plate appearances due to Justin Turner somehow receiving 53 of them (with zero extra-base hits and a .446 OPS). I would expect his playing time to tick up.

3rd Place: Carson Kelly (.370/.524/.891)
Rate Stats Pace: 38 HR, 113 RBI, 70 R, 83 Walks, all of this in 340 prorated plate appearances (Stats per 600 plate appearances: 67 HR, 200 RBI, 124 runs)

Danny Jansen has been, as the kids say, good, right? While nobody should expect him to continue this level of production, he has these numbers already in the bank. With the negative offensive value the position created last season, Kelly and his fellow backstop Miguel Amaya (.283/.313/.483) have been massive sources of improvement over the first month. When Jed Hoyer makes his case for a new deal as the Cubs' president of baseball operations, Carson Kelly will be one of the feathers in his cap.

2nd Place: Kyle Tucker (.288/.397/.568)
Rate Stats Pace: 38 HR, 140 RBI, 140 R, 43 steals
There's no way that this guy really deserves a second place finish for this month. This is arguably a top-five bat in baseball. He's easily been worth giving up Cam Smith, even for just one year.

Optimism has come for a possible extension during the season, and Cubs fans would rightfully revolt if ownership doesn't meet his demands. This writer, personally, doesn't want the uncertainty. Just give him what he wants. Then, we can fully enjoy what's going on in right field.

THE FIRST MONTH MVP: Pete Crow-Armstrong (.284/.325/.543)
Rate Stats Pace: 32 HR, 124 runs, 113 RBI, 65 steals
If you watched the ESPN broadcast of the Sunday Night Baseball game against the Phillies, Crow-Armstrong was the main character. He had a delightful on-field interview, some hard-hit balls, and the announcers showered him with praise. 

I'm not saying this is a full breakout. But it is what a breakout looks like.

Currently, Crow-Armstrong sports 1.9 WAR, second-highest in baseball. This is obviously a reflection of his defense, which Craig Counsell dubbed the best in the league, and the eye test more than measures up there. Statcast is less forgiving on his bat, but don't sweat that. He's not going to be a player always quantified by advanced metrics. Just watch the games; you'll see the impact he makes daily.

To be a bit dramatic and meatball-like, Crow-Armstrong has become my favorite player in baseball, and finally nudged this slightly aging and cranky fan from the post-2021 selloff doldrums. The excitement this kid has provided makes the Cubs not just watchable, but must-see TV again. His breaking out is the most important thing besides a Tucker extension, and for that reason, Pete Crow-Armstrong receives this prestigious award—one which he probably will never know he earned.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments.

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[Brian Kelder]

And yes I do get Danny Jansen and Carson Kelly confused. I’ll put the comment here before you guys do!

[ryanrc]

Agreed with this- although Tucker is the likely highest OPS hitter, with Suzuki a close second, PCA is currently winning the MVP race due to his overall game. Suppose we project Kelly to cool down and end up with a .950 OPS on 350 plate appearances, and 1 defensive WAR. Suppose also we expect Swanson to step up a bit hitting and put up a 2 WAR defense .... Hoerner 2.5 WAR defense... but most other players to be close to flat in performance:

top 7 Projected total WAR Ranking, position weighted, regular season:
PCA            8 - 11     well rounded, all elite skills, generational glove 

Tucker       5.5 - 8     well rounded, all elite skills, generational balance

Kelly          4 - 5.5    mostly offense

Swanson   4 - 5.5  balanced, excellent defense

Suzuki       4 - 5       offense and baserunning

 Hoerner    3.5 -4   mostly defense, baserunning

Busch         3 - 3.5   balanced except baserunning

Happ          3 - 3.5   mostly offense, some defense

Amaya       2.5 - 3.5    well rounded except baserunning

 

Edited May 18, 2025 by ryanrc