After a slow start to the season, Pete Crow-Armstrong has played at nothing short of an MVP level during the month of June. There is even an argument to be made that PCA is the MVP right now, and if not for Shohei Ohtani, many more conversations would be taking place. Despite PCA playing at this absurd level and accumulating 5 WAR on the season, fan voting has ruined what has the potential to be a prestigious event.
Of the 16 players on the National League finalists ballot, all 16 are either Dodgers players or players in the NL East. While the Cubs as a team shouldn't necessarily have had any other candidates besides PCA. there is a clear problem with fan voting, and what makes PCA's absence from this list even more disrespectful is the fact that there are 6 outfielder finalists, compared to the 2 finalists at other positions. This is largely due to the fact that defense is heavily disregarded by fans, which is truly a travesty considering that it's half of the game. PCA makes highlight worthy plays daily, but his defensive ability is not held in the regard that it should be.
The National League outfielder finalists list is nothing short of disrespectful to PCA
PCA's absence from the final ballot is already bad enough on its own, but when you further examine the 6 outfielder finalists and the seasons they're having, it gets significantly worse. None of the finalists besides Andy Pages have had even close to the season that PCA is having, and most are having not even half as valuable of a season. In fact, PCA isn't the only National League outfielder who's been snubbed from the finalist ballot. Cubs and Cardinals fans are agreeing on something, which truly displays how bad fan voting has become.
There's cases of players with worse, but still good seasons getting on the ballot due to fan voting. This isn't the problem. Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves is having a solid season, accumulating 2.7 WAR across a .306/.337/.513 slash line. While PCA is certainly more deserving of being on the ballot than Harris II, you can understand why fans, specifically of the Atlanta Braves, would vote for Harris II. On the other hand, Harris' teammate, Ronald Acuña Jr, is on the finalist ballot despite playing in only 53 games and accumulating 0.9 WAR. Acuña is obviously nothing short of a superstar talent, but he is just simply not worthy of being a 2026 All-Star, and everyone who isn't a Braves fan would most certainly agree.
PCA is a shoe-in as the Cubs' 2026 All-Star representative, but the fact that he is not even in consideration for starting the game is further proof that the format of fan voting needs to be modified.
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