The Chicago Cubs have had an interesting relationship with their rookie outfielder, but things are looking better than ever right now.
As ESPN's Kiley McDaniel examined the state of the rookies around MLB this season, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong found himself ranked eighth as a 'solid contributor' this season.
"Crow-Armstrong is the worst hitter in this group, but he is already one of the best defenders in MLB on a per inning basis, delivering on the reputation he has had since high school."
Among the other sluggers in the same tier as him were Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowers, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn and New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells.
Chicago's fiery rookie still found himself ranked above all of them. Not too long ago, this assessment seemed unachieveable given just how bad he was at the plate.
Crow-Armstrong started off his career with a cold stretch at the plate last season. In his short stint at the end of 2023, he went 0-for-19 at the plate. He stole two bases but was also caught stealing twice. It certainly wasn't the offensive season that anyone wanted to start out.
He was expected to be a project with high potential at the plate, but seemingly not one ready for the big leagues.
The next shocking development came when he didn't start to the 2024 season on the active roster after losing the position battle in spring training as Cody Bellinger started the season back in center field.
Once Crow-Armstrong was finally in the MLB lineup, he got off to a nice start but slowed down fairly quickly was sent back down to Triple A after just 23 games.
He tore up minor league pitching for a week before they changed their mind and brought him back up.
The struggles got even worse, though. By the time that the end of July rolled around, his slashing line hit a valley of .180/.230/.292. After that, though, something clicked in his game.
In the 39 games after, the 22-year-old has put up a .321/.364/.534 slashing line with five home runs and 24 RBI.
He's had the highest OPS in the Cubs lineup among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances in that time. That's along with him remaining one of the best defenders in baseball.
Though things got rocky, Chicago can feel good about the future of center field for now thanks to Crow-Armstrong turning his season around.
