When the Chicago Cubs acquired young outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in the trade that sent Javier Baez out of town, everyone thought they were getting a future superstar.
It's too early to say one way or the other, but Crow-Armstrong has struggled mightily at the plate in his major league opportunities.
He has shown off elite defense, but his bat has been a problem. Despite the lack of offensive production, the Cubs remain very confident that he will be able to figure things out.
Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke out about the outfielder. He made it clear that he thinks Crow-Armstrong is in the right place and will continue developing.
‘‘I think this is the place for him to develop. He’s contributing to winning as much as any position player right now. His defense is off the charts and [his] baserunning.’’
Hoyer continued on talking about Crow-Armstrong, offering a very interesting comparison to the former fan favorite that was involved in the same trade. He talked about how Baez took time to develop at the plate as well.
‘‘In the sense that Javy sort of learned to hit in the big leagues. His contribution early on, offensively, was the occasional homer. But he wasn’t getting on base, [and] he was striking out a lot. But his defense was so remarkable that we played him a lot.’’
Crow-Armstrong has spent a good chunk of time in the majors so far this season. He has played in 46 games prior to Tuesday night's matchup with the San Francisco Giants, batting .207/.246/.298 to go along with one home run and 11 RBI.
His baserunning has been great. The 22-year-old has stolen 13 bases already this year.
While his offense has been poor, his defense has made a difference. Crow-Armstrong has elite speed and athleticism in center field. He looks the part of a future Gold Glover.
If Hoyer's comparison ends up coming even close to being true, the future is bright for the talented outfielder. Baez took some time to become the dangerous offensive threat that he ended up being.
All of that being said, it will be interesting to watch Crow-Armstrong develop over the next couple of years. The Cubs are still cleary very high on him and it sounds like he's in town to stay.
Hopefully, he can take some steps forward throughout the rest of the 2024 season and end the year as a much better player at the plate than he has been thus far.
