This A’s Outfielder Could Follow Pete Crow-Armstrong’s Breakout Path

The A's could have a breakout on their hands

Oct 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) reacts after striking out against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Last season Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong put everything together offensively and ended up being one of the best players in baseball throughout the entire 2025 campaign, finishing with 5.4 fWAR. That was good enough to rank him No. 15 in all of baseball when all was said and done, and he was ranked even higher in the middle of the summer.

PCA ended up batting .247 with a .287 OBP and 30 home runs, leading to a 109 wRC+ (100 is league average) to go along with the best glove in baseball out in center field. While he was definitely led by his defensive output, his bat was above league average, which is what made him such a valuable player for Chicago.

Well, the folks over at MLB.com believe that A's outfielder Denzel Clarke could be this year's PCA, pegging him as their pick to be "an electric talent that puts it all together." In his 47 games in the big leagues, Clarke has already made himself a household name with his glove, consistently making impossible catches look routine.

In those 47 games, he finished with +13 outs above average, while PCA finished at +24 over the course of a full season. There is an argument to be made that Clarke will be the best defender in baseball if he can stay healthy simply based off of his pace from a year ago.

Clarke also hit .230 with a .274 OBP and finished with a 75 wRC+. He doesn't seem to have the same level of power potential as Crow-Armstrong, hitting just three homers in his rookie campaign, but the Cubs outfielder had slugged just ten homers in 136 career games entering 2025. Perhaps there is a little room for growth from Clarke.

From MLB: "PCA went from a raw talent in 2024 (great defense in center field and great speed but not much hitting) to a 30-30 All-Star slugger in 2025. If there's someone who can follow a similar path in 2026 -- the speed and defense are already there, but the offense isn't -- it's Clarke.

"Clarke has well-above-average bat speed (74.3 mph, much faster than the league average of 71.8 mph), a solid hard-hit rate (43%) and enough raw power to crush a 471-foot home run (he's one of eight players to hit a 470-footer last season). He needs to make some significant improvements in barreling the baseball, but PCA had to do that, too, and he did."

The other key that could help Clarke in 2026 is that he's going to be in the middle (or more specifically the back of) a talented offensive group, led by sluggers like Brent Rooker, Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom.

Clarke isn't going to have a ton of pressure on him to contribute with the bat initially, which will hopefully allow him to relax a bit at the plate and enjoy a similar breakout to the one that PCA enjoyed last year.

As long as Clarke is able to stay healthy and his defense is strong, he'll be given every opportunity to figure out how to be the most effective with the bat. In his 47 games played he was still worth 1.3 WAR despite being a well below league average bat. Over the course of a full season, that's a four-win player with the glove.