Celebrating Progress and Hoping for the Star Turn: Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2025 Outlook

[Bailey Hall]

The outset of the offseason is an opportunity to leave the previous season behind and look toward the future. The brightest future star who rose into the Cubs firmament in 2024 was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who will be pivotal for them going forward, too. Has he performed as expected so far?

Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

As a born-and-bred Californian, both of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s parents are actors, and his childhood revolved around Los Angeles's Hollywood hub. He attended Harvard-Westlake High School, an LA baseball juggernaut, and he signed as a first-round pick out of high school, despite an offer from Vanderbilt University and even though he was selected in the chaotic, COVID-clouded 2020 Draft. Since then, he was traded to the Cubs for Javier Báez, Trevor Williams, and (of course) some money. Crow-Armstrong has since been on record saying Báez was his favorite player in high school, and despite his Californian roots, he was always a Cubs fan, so he seemed to be destined for the cubby blue pinstripes since day 1. The question is, has he lived up to the hype? 

After a shoulder injury cut short his 2021 season and made him available for the Cubs that summer, he quickly climbed up the minor-league ladder. For the Iowa Cubs, PCA won a Minor League Gold Glove in 2022 season, as his defense wowed scouts and statistical models alike. His raw talent carried him at the plate in the minors, too, with a .295 batting average and an .883 OPS. He seemed a prime candidate for the major-league roster by the middle of 2023, and after a few back-and-forths between the majors and Triple A, Crow-Armstrong has solidly secured his spot on the major-league roster.

His fielding has continued to be stellar, with 11 Defensive Runs Saved this season as the primary center fielder. Even during the 2023 season (in his few games with the Cubs), his fielding was almost flawless, but his batting has left more to be desired. Crow-Armstrong batted just .237 this season, and maybe that shouldn't have disappointed anyone. Many scouting reports have explained that he often makes weak contact and has merely average power, and Dustin Kelly, the Cubs’ hitting coach, has explained that they are working with him to improve swing speed; his lower body form to increase power; and his mental choices at the plate.

This season, he had 2.7 WAR, but that wasn’t quite enough to make the final podium for Rookie of the Year. The 2024 Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards should be announced on Nov. 18, but Paul Skenes of the Pirates, Jackson Merrill of the Padres, and Jackson Chourio of the Brewers beat him out—not to mention a couple Cubs teammates, in all likelihood, in Shota Imanaga and Michael Busch. 

Crow-Armstrong has so much raw talent that so far hasn't converted neatly into real value, but his future seems bright for the Cubs. As John Candy's manic-depressive play-by-play man character said in Rookie of the Year: “Opening Day at Wrigley, and oh what a sight! The diamond, the decorations, and the dread of yet another losing season.” With young (but maturing) Crow-Armstrong on the roster right from the jump next year, here's hoping the impending dread fades, and as we say every year, next season will be ours, and the Friendly Confines will once again see a successful season in 2025.

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