Pete Crow-Armstrong Offers High Praise for His ‘Favorite Player in Baseball’

Despite the recent influx of pitching injuries, the Cubs are heating up exactly when they need to.

Following a homestand sweep of the Mets, the team is riding a five-game win streak and will face the Phillies for the second time this season Monday night. Chicago won the first series two games to one, but most will remember the brutality of that 13-7 loss just a week ago.

There’s still a lot of work to be done — the Cubs’ 12-9 record and .571 win percentage tie the team with Milwaukee for last place in the division — but if second baseman Nico Hoerner has anything to do with it, Chicago is on track for success.

Hoerner walked it off for the Cubs in the final game of their series with the Mets on Sunday, on a sac fly to right field.

Pete Crow-Armstrong was already in scoring position when Hoerner entered the batter’s box. He tagged up as soon as New York’s Tyrone Taylor caught the ball and launched himself toward not only home plate, but also into the crowd.

PCA was all of us during that walk-off 🤣👏 pic.twitter.com/86e3GKYVSd
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 19, 2026

Your favorite player’s favorite player

When Crow-Armstrong stepped onto the barrier behind home plate and cheered with the fans, his excitement was palpable. Even if you were watching at home, it was a moment you could feel through the screen.

Part of his excitement was because Hoerner was the one at the plate.

“Getting on first or getting on third base with one out and having Nico up, you're pretty confident that [the runner is] going to find home plate somehow, so just letting him go to work,” the centerfielder told Marquee Sports after the walkoff.

Hoerner’s .325 batting average currently leads the team and is a league 11th-best. “We got the best bat-to-ball guy in baseball and my favorite player in baseball as our lead-off hitter,” Crow-Armstrong said.

"We got the best bat-to-ball guy in baseball and my favorite player in baseball as our leadoff hitter."

Nico Hoerner is PCA's favorite player 🤩 pic.twitter.com/sL2VVQFy3x
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 19, 2026

Catching attention around the league

MLB insider Jon Heyman echoed Crow-Armstrong’s praises of Hoerner speaking with The Score on Monday.

“Nico Hoerner, I mean, I think he's the best player on that team,” Heyman said.

“It's rare to see a guy who's a second baseman without big power, who is the best player on the team. I sat in right field with my daughter for part of the game on Friday, he made a play, I couldn't even believe it,” Heyman recalled. “He's probably their best all-around player. That's what I think. I mean, he can do everything.”

This take from Heyman carries even more weight when realizing the insider also considers the Cubs “the best defensive team.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google