CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s development has had its bumps in the road in his rookie season, but he has steadily showcased improvement lately.
Firmly entrenched as the team’s starting center fielder, the 22-year-old Crow-Armstrong believes his recent success is tied to his better grasp of learning the league and opposing pitchers each day. Crow-Armstrong is riding a career-best six-game hitting streak as the Cubs had an off day Thursday.
Crow-Armstrong knows the Cubs are giving him plenty of time to develop and get experience, and that has helped have a calming effect on him.
“Personally, the weight is off my shoulders now,” Crow-Armstrong said. "I think what was driving me up a wall is that I wasn't impacting anything positive either winning or losing. I was helped by the fact that the greater focus was on where we are now, keeping these wins coming.
"I want to keep doing it. I want to keep this approach and how I want to see each pitch. It has been a year that guys probably feel like they are underperforming a little bit. It has shown me that we have a lot of pros in this clubhouse who know how to get it back.”
Crow-Armstrong has come a long way in his belief in the process of grinding out at-bats, and he has had great support from manager Craig Counsell, the front office and his teammates.
“It has been about getting a little better in knowing what my hitting zone is,” Crow-Armstrong said. "Just being able to be OK with punching out on a pitch that I know wasn't in my zone and tip my cap. Just kind of taking the ego out of all of it. I know I can't hit everything, and I won't hit everything well ever. Just looking middle in and keeping it simple. So far that has worked.”
Crow-Armstrong is hitting .295 with a .766 OPS in the past 15 days, and he’s 7-of-20 during his ongoing six-game hitting streak. Along with his usual superb defense and speed on the bases, that has made Crow-Armstrong an important contributor.
“Pete is swinging at better pitches now,” Counsell said. “He has been aggressive, but now he is being aggressive in the strike zone. Just being aggressive with strikes in the zone, we have seen a lot of hard-hit balls by him the last couple of weeks.”
Crow-Armstrong is hitting .205 with three homers, 23 RBIs and a .578 OPS in 78 games for the season.
Crow-Armstrong doesn’t want to use his age as an excuse for any struggles, but he does understand how important experience is.
"Age is kind of irrelevant, but actual pitcher-batter history is big,” Crow-Armstrong said. “You just need to see people, and you need to see them pitch again. It's easier to build a plan when you have that batter-pitcher history.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.