New Cubs Teammate Helping Pete Crow-Armstrong Improve at the Plate

Alex Bregman is well-known as a student of baseball.

Paired with strong leadership and communication, his sharp observational skills nearly earn him a spot on the coaching staff. He likes to share what he sees, and he’s already helping his new team.

Specifically, the 9-year MLB veteran is working with 23-year-old center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

“We've just had a lot of cool conversations about approach and how we want to see me attack and get that OBP back up, that swing rate/chase rate down,” Crow-Armstrong said in Mesa this week. “I'm confident that [Bregman] is somebody that will really help me with that.”

Pete Crow-Armstrong at Cubs Spring Training | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Crow-Armstrong recorded a team-highest 41.7% chase rate in 2025. While he started the season strong with a .265 batting average, it had slipped to .216 by the second half of the summer.

Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell doesn’t seem too worried.

“When you get to that good place you never think it’s going to go away,” Counsell said. “That's the devil of hitting. He's a young hitter learning a lot ... The goal for Pete is to keep improving. Let's not stress out about the shape of the season. Let's just keep improving. That's my goal.”

Crow-Armstrong is taking on a sponge-like attitude when it comes to working with Bregman because he understands just how much knowledge his new teammate really has.

“I can already kind of see it’s going to be really easy to apply my conviction and competitiveness into a real thought-out approach,” he said. “The guy has had .400 OBP years. He is probably someone you should listen to in terms of that.”

Chicago Cubs Alex Bregman hits live batting practice during spring training camp at Sloan Park. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The young center fielder says he knows what he does well and what he doesn’t, calling his hitting success “very sporadic.” One of the biggest things Crow-Armstrong will focus on this season is consistency.

“What I'm not so proud of is the .280 on-base percentage and the 55% swing rate or whatever it was,” he said. “That's no fun. I had a lot more fun when I was playing well and when I was playing while I was keeping the ball in the middle of the plate and I was able to do damage there."

PCA's swing specifics

Crow-Armstrong also appreciates when Bregman works with him and isn’t “just picking apart my swing.” He knows it’s always a possibility Bregman will mess with his swing, but says they have slightly different approaches.

“I would still hear what he has to say because it’s Alex Bregman. He just wants to see a little less from me, I think.”

The pair have focused “mostly about swing decisions and how dominant he is when he swings at good pitches to hit,” according to Bregman. Though the third baseman may not love the center fielder’s swing, Crow-Armstrong is happy with where it’s at.

“We've kind of ironed [the swing] out,” he said of his progress with the Cubs. “It's not the most perfect thing in the world, but the steps we've taken with the swing over the last three years have been incredible and I'm very proud of that.”

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong during batting practice | David Banks-Imagn Images

Crow-Armstrong’s plans to work on his consistency are important. His current lack of consistency has created a bit of a snowball effect. It’s not necessarily the swing itself.

“What we saw last year was that the swing, it will work and it'll play,” Crow-Armstrong said. It’s more about the setup, something he called “out of whack.”

“I wasn't really getting in the box the same way and everything, that's when the swing kind of went to crap and that's when the mechanical stuff started playing a bigger role in the lack of success,” Crow-Armstrong explained.

It appears the center fielder has his work cut out for him. Luckily, he seems to have identified all of the pieces contributing to last season’s struggles. Plus, having Bregman around is definitely a bonus.

“I think the sky is the limit for him,” Bregman said. “He can do anything on a baseball field… The more that he refines his game, he's going to continue to get better and better and better.”

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