Now in his third big-league spring training with the Chicago Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong is no longer wondering when his time will come. Two years ago, he was basking in the novelty of being in big-league camp with the team he grew up rooting for. Last year, fresh off his major-league debut in September and as one of baseball’s top prospects, he was determined to seize an Opening Day roster spot. That is, until those plans were derailed by Cody Bellinger’s late return to the Cubs during spring training, which sent Crow-Armstrong back to Triple-A to open the season.
But this year, there are zero doubts. Crow-Armstrong is the Cubs’ center fielder. It is a certainty that he earned over the course of a rookie season in which his elite speed and defense shined immediately while his bat trended favorably as the year went along.
“I just feel like my place here is a little more meaningful,” Crow-Armstrong told Yahoo Sports earlier this spring. “And I’m so glad to be out of the prospect status and all that stuff.”
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‘Can I trust you to go make the next play?’
For more than a decade, Crow-Armstrong has been on a high-profile path to becoming an every-day center fielder in the major leagues. From competing regularly as part of USA Baseball’s National Team as early as age 12 to playing for a high school program known for churning out big leaguers, he has always been in the spotlight. That attention was amplified further early in his pro career, when Crow-Armstrong was traded to the Cubs in exchange for Javier Baez just a year after he was drafted 19th overall by the Mets. His stock continued to soar as he climbed the minors, culminating in his big-league debut at age 21.
Now, after years of promise and projection, the player known as PCA has arrived. It’s no longer about what he can do to reach the next level; it’s about what he can do to be the best he can be at the highest level. As Crow-Armstrong pointed out: “There’s nowhere else to go.”
And with a year of big-league reps under his belt and his role on the Cubs finally secure, Crow-Armstrong is embracing an opportunity that has been a lifetime in the making.
“Last year was super informative,” the soon-to-be 23-year-old said of his rookie campaign, in which he started 109 games in center field for the Cubs, including 63 of Chicago’s 64 games after the All-Star…