Chicago Cubs Young Outfielder Can Be an All-Star With This Improvement in His Game

A Chicago Cubs outfielder is working with a strong skill set base and could be an All-Star with some improvements.

Aug 27, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (52) runs the bases against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ahead of the trade deadline in 2021, the Chicago Cubs completed a blockbuster trade with the New York Mets.

They traded shortstop Javier Baez, along with Trevor Williams, in exchange for prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.

A first-round pick in the 2020 MLB draft out of Harvard Westlake High School in Los Angeles, California, he was one of the best young players in the Mets organization at the time of the deal. 

Expectations only rose following the trade as Crow-Armstrong turned himself into one of the best prospects in the sport. He was a unanimous top 30 prospect in 2023 and 2024 and made his MLB debut in 2023.

His rapid ascension through the minor league system was made possible because his best attributes, speed and defense, translate well at every level.

He has already cemented himself as arguably the best defensive outfielder in baseball, which is a major reason why Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated has placed him at No. 20 in his list of the top 25 players under the age of 25 in the MLB.

“His center field defense is so good—he led all center fielders in Fielding Run Value last year and was fifth in Outs Above Average—that he needs only a passable bat to be an above-average regular,” Selbe wrote.

In the first half of the season, his bat was not passable.

Crow-Armstrong had a slash line of .203/.253/.329 in 174 plate appearances to begin the campaign. His sOPS+ was an ugly 64; 100 is average, so he wasn’t performing well below the level of a replacement player.

He did manage to steal 17 bases, as he made the most of when he was on base. Alas, even with elite defense, that offensive production was not going to cut it.

But, he figured something out in the second half and he began to find a groove at the plate.

Across 236 plate appearances in the second half, he recorded a .262/.310/.425 slash line. He hit seven home runs with eight doubles and three triples, stealing another 10 bases.

That resulted in an sOPS+ of 105, which is more than acceptable when combining with the defensive impact that he provides.

The Cubs aren’t expecting him to produce across an entire season as he did in August 2024, when he had an sOPS+ of 155 and was a one-man wrecking crew. If he can put together an entire year of what he provided in the second half, he is going to be an All-Star sooner rather than later.

Crow-Armstrong is going to carve out a lengthy MLB career with his speed and defense alone. How high he ascends will be dependent on his bat and impact at the plate.