Scouts Don't Think Cubs' Star Prospect is Ready for Big Leagues

Despite being a highly coveted prospect who debuted last season, some MLB scouts don't think that the Chicago Cubs' outfielder is ready to play in the Major League.

The Chicago Cubs did a great job of adding young talent in their farm system when they became sellers at the trade deadline the past few seasons.

That's boosted their pipeline into being considered top-5 by multiple publications who grade minor league prospects.

Perhaps the most coveted of all the Cubs' young players was outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong who made his highly anticipated debut in 2023.

He flashed his elite defense for Chicago when he was called-up, but was overwhelmed at the plate.

This has caused some scouts to say they don't think he's ready for the MLB level yet.

"Prospects can be on a weird timeline. Pete Crow-Armstrong — and I know he didn’t have an extended run — but he pretty clearly looked like he’s not ready," one scout told Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

There was some thought that Crow-Armstrong would slide into the center field role to start the 2024 season.

Another scout doesn't think that's the case.

"I’m not a believer in handing jobs to rookie players. They have to earn it to remove the ‘prospect’ label. [Cody] Bellinger is an established big-leaguer capable of impacting a team. The Cubs can start him in center field until PCA is ready, then slide him to first," he told Sharma.

Of course, that strategy would only happen if the Cubs are able to re-sign the star slugger Bellinger.

Swapping Crow-Armstrong for Bellinger in center field would be a disaster offensively if Chicago isn't able to add another power bat.

The young prospect could eventually develop into a solid Major League hitter, but that timeline is unknown right now and doesn't fit their win-now mentality.

This situation puts that much more pressure on the Cubs' front office to have an impactful free agency when it begins.