Chicago Cubs Rookie of the Year Candidate Comes as No Surprise

The Chicago Cubs are facing an interesting time in their franchise. They have some star MLB players on their current roster and have created a high-level pipeline that is seemingly full of future stars as well.

As Cubs' ownership and front office start turning their focus to becoming perennial contenders right now, there are some questions about how they want to use these prospects.

Do they continue to let them develop so they become stars within their organization? Or, do they move them and acquire current high-level players to make them compete for championships right now?

If they are patient and hold onto these prospects throughout the offseason, there is one player who could be a Rookie of the Year candidate for Chicago in 2024.

MLB Pipeline believes the Cubs' No. 1 overall prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong has the best chance of winning this award for Chicago.

"Crow-Armstrong likely will get some more Triple-A seasoning after going 0-for-14 in a September callup, but he's capable of winning a Gold Glove in center field as a rookie if the Cubs play him enough," they write.

That's quite a prediction.

Yes, his defense is clearly above his offense right now, but winning a Gold Glove in his rookie season would be quite an accomplishment. And if that's the case, then there's no way the coveted outfielder wouldn't win Rooke of the Year.

However, like they mentioned, his bat is what could hold him back.

He wasn't ready to handle Major League pitching when he was called up during the 2023 season. In 13 games and 14 at-bats, he failed to record a single hit and finished with a slash line of .000/.176/.000.

Crow-Armstrong projects to be the center fielder of their future, but he'll need to massively improve his hitting so that he can get everyday playing time if he wants to win this award