It started with a wink and a bat flip. When Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered another hit that sent the crowd into a frenzy, it ignited the energy in the dugout. It wasn’t a moment of a prospect showing potential. It felt like witnessing the birth of a true star. For Cubs fans watching from home and in the stands, it felt like a moment. For one teammate watching from the sidelines, it felt like destiny.

Enter Justin Steele. The $6.55 million lefty, sidelined this year with an elbow injury, hasn’t thrown a pitch in months, but he’s still throwing heat. When MLB’s official account posted a tweet celebrating Crow-Armstrong’s “breakout campaign,” Steele couldn’t let it slide. In four sharp words, he quote-posted: “You misspelt MVP campaign.” No emojis. No fluff. Just conviction.

That short burst on social media did more than rack up retweets. It cracked open a bigger conversation, one that’s quietly been building in Chicago clubhouses and fan forums alike: Is PCA just a hot streak, or is he legitimately turning into the guy?

Crow-Armstrong, known more for his glove when he debuted, has exploded at the plate over the past month. Extra-base hits, clutch RBIs, and smart base-running, his toolkit suddenly looks complete. Steele, watching from the dugout with a pitcher’s eye, clearly sees more than flashes. He sees a franchise cornerstone.

And his words hit differently coming from him. Steele’s not known for chirping on social media. His posts are rare, calculated, and usually reserved for something real. So when he stepped up to defend Crow-Armstrong, fans took notice. Teammates did too. “It’s the kind of belief that matters,” one Cubs insider noted. “When your ace, hurt or not, is hyping you as MVP material, you start to believe it yourself.”

Of course, MVP talk in June is premature. But Steele’s wasn’t the only one saying it. On a sunlit Tuesday at Wrigley Field, the energy in the stands felt different. In the top of the eighth, with the Cubs clinging to a lead, Crow-Armstrong sprinted back in center field and made a leaping catch, robbing Brice Turang of what looked like a sure hit.

The crowd roared, but PCA wasn’t done. In the bottom half, chants of “P-C-A!” echoed through the stadium as he stepped to the plate. Then, with a crack of the bat, he launched a towering home run off the right-field scoreboard—Statcast measured it at 452 feet, the longest of his career and the hardest-hit ball he’s ever produced at 111.5 mph. As he rounded the bases, the chants shifted: “M-V-P! M-V-P!” For a 23-year-old, that kind of recognition is rare.

So while MLB plays catch-up with PCA’s rise, Steele and the fans have already made their vote. And if his four words prove prophetic, that clip MLB posted won’t just be about a breakout, it’ll be the first reel in a highlight package we’ll be watching for years.

Pete Crow-Armstrong embraces All-Star buzz with Cubs mentality

Pete Crow-Armstrong isn’t letting the bright lights of All-Star buzz throw him off course. At just 23, the Cubs’ rising star has become one of the most talked-about young players in baseball, but you wouldn’t know it from how he carries himself. With his name climbing the National League voting charts and fans chanting louder each week, PCA remains as grounded as ever. No chest-pounding. No “look at me” energy. Just the same kid with a glove, a bat, and a clear sense of where he belongs in the middle of what the Cubs are building.

“I mean, being able to share the field with guys like Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge and all that’s great,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But I see it as I get to do that every day with [Kyle Tucker] and [Ian] Happ.” He wasn’t just avoiding the topic; he was emphasizing what is truly important to him as a player and teammate. Even though making it to the All-Star Game is an achievement in his career journey, PCA’s main priority is still about making contributions to the team that has shown faith in him to guide them from center field.

Even with his name among the top vote-getters in the National League, he keeps his tone even. “It’ll be cool if it happens. If it happens, it happens. If not, I get a nice week off,” he said with a laugh, brushing aside ego in favor of balance. For Crow-Armstrong, the All-Star buzz isn’t about personal glory, it’s about representing the Cubs the right way.

And if his breakout campaign ends with an All-Star appearance, it’ll be just another way he’s helping “what the Cubbies are doing” shine on the national stage.