May has not been kind to the Chicago Cubs, who have dropped 17 of 27 games while losing 12 of their last 16 contests (including their May 30 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers).
As a result, the surging rival St. Louis Cardinals, who’ve won eight of their last 10, have climbed out of the cellar to take over second place—five games behind the Central Division-leading Brewers. The Chicago Cubs are now 5.5 back in third.
Meanwhile, recently demoted outfield hopeful Pete Crow-Armstrong had a smoke show spell down at Triple-A Iowa. Crow-Armstrong was named International League Player of the Week (May 20-26) with 3 homers/7 RBI and a 1.248 OPS.
Accordingly, the Cubs decided to send down Luis Vazquez and recall the talent-laden outfielder in hopes of igniting a June resurgence.
Crow-Armstrong’s function with the big club is simple: “The role is to help us win,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, according to Marquee Sports’ Tony Andracki .
Pete Crow-Armstrong Addition Allows the Cubs to ‘Mix & Match’
The Cubs currently use a roster combination of four outfielders daily: Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Mike Tauchman.
Before Crow-Armstrong’s recall, Andracki reported, “Counsell has utilized the DH spot as a rotation between those four players with Tauchman rotating between the three outfield spots to give the other veterans a half-day off.”
Crow-Armstrong’s abundant speed and athletic ability have him pegged as the Cub’s center fielder. Given that, Counsell has more options with the rest of the outfield crew.
“When he plays, he’s obviously going to play center field. The result is we’ll see Cody maybe at some different positions at times. But we’ll just kind of mix and match and see how that goes,” Counsell said, according to Andracki.
Crow-Armstrong Has Outstanding Speed & Defense, But Can He Solve Major League Pitching?
The age-old barrier that has separated the men from the boys when it comes to making the transition into Major League Baseball is, of course, their ability to hit the best pitching on the planet.
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s future with the big club could greatly rely on his progress at the plate.
To hold a spot on a big-league roster, a plus defender like Crow-Armstrong doesn’t have to rake incessantly (see Harrison Bader), and the former first-round pick of the Mets had his moments during his earlier 53-at-bat stint with the Cubs in late April/May 2024.
Crow-Armstrong’s slash line of .236/.295/.364 with a wRC+ of 89 was a tad below what you’d like to see, but then again, he’s 22 years old with a cache of upside.
Regardless, his eye-opening DRS figure of 6 in that short span is quite impressive.
“Pete’s a good defender,” Counsell said, per Andracki. “Your players have strengths certainly and ways they make the team better. We’re just thinking about how the roster was being used.”
The addition of the top-rated Cub prospect comes with no guarantees.
“I think Pete has to earn playing time. We have a couple of situations like that. We’re gonna have some choices every day in the lineup. Fun for the fans. Fun for [the media]. There’s gonna be days when he doesn’t play,” Counsell said, per Andracki.
“We obviously brought Pete in to be a part of this and I think it gives us some more choices throughout the game. And I expect that to evolve and hopefully, we get a good solution out of it.”
With fellow Cubs’ outfield prospect Brennen Davis also knocking at the MLB door, the front office may have another decision not far down the pike.
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Stumbling Cubs Recall Top Prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong: ‘Role Is to Help Us Win’