Cubs No. 1 Prospect a Step Away from Major Leagues
The time has finally come. The Chicago Cubs have promoted their No. 1 prospect, 21-year-old center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong up to Triple-A. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma was first to report that the top-10 prospect in baseball is moving on from the Double-A Tennessee Smokies.
Crow-Armstrong has been incredible at Double-A this season and his offensive game has gone to the next level since the league stopped using an experimental, pre-tacked baseball earlier this month.
Overall in 2023, Crow-Armstrong has a slash line of .289/.371/.527, in 342 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter has 14 home runs, while also stealing 27 bases out of the leadoff spot at Double-A.
The center fielder finished the month of July with a 162 wRC+ after a lash line of .307/.391/.640, crushing 5 home runs, 8 doubles and a triple in 18 games.
Two things stand out when you look at Crow-Armstrong’s numbers compared to 2022, when he was fantastic in A-Ball. For one, PCA has taken on the challenge of becoming more patient at the plate. His low BB% was the main reason some prospect evaluators lowered his status in May, but since then PCA has tripled his walk percentage. On the year, Crow-Armstrong’s BB% is at 9.1. It was below 3% after 14 games in April.
Secondly, Crow-Armstrong has been hitting the ball in the air more often in 2023, up to 55.6% compared to 37.4% in 2022. More importantly, PCA is still making a lot of hard contact AND lifting the ball, leading to more power this season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong September Call-Up?
It may be a little too aggressive, but at the same time, we do see teams who are battling for a playoff spot add players to their roster in September who have a specific skill-set. Normally, it’s a position player who has excellent speed and can be a great late-inning defensive replacement in the outfield.
Hmmm, a speedy outfielder?
I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that PCA gets a taste in the majors in September, but he obviously has to adjust to new challenges at Triple-A first. While the most raw talent might be at Double-A, there are certainly different aspects to pitching that Crow-Armstrong will see for the first time in the minor leagues now that he’ll be with the Iowa Cubs.
Trade Coming?
So, the Iowa Cubs now have a crowded outfield and you know PCA is going to get every start in center field. With his promotion, fans have started to speculate how the team will use their minor league depth leading up to the trade deadline.
The speculation has only increased since Edwin Ríos was out-righted, opening up a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster on Sunday.
The two notable names at Triple-A who might be traded for an MLB piece in the next day or so are Nelson Velázquez and Yonathan Perlaza.
While the Cubs have needed another hitter to help out in the majors this season, they haven’t shown any interest in bringing up Velázquez again, while Perlaza would need to be added to the 40-man roster first.