(670 The Score) Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner isn't the least bit concerned by 21-year-old outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong's struggles at the plate in his first big league stint.
Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-14 in 19 plate appearances across 13 games down the stretch after the Cubs called him up on Sept. 11. He was primarily used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, as he started just three games. In Hoerner's mind, that's the most important fact to consider when evaluating how Crow-Armstrong performed.
"First, it's important to recognize that he was getting one at-bat a game against random eighth-inning guys for an extended stretch, and that's a pretty rough introduction to this level," Hoerner said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm sure I had multiple stretches of this season where I went 0-for-12 against eighth- or ninth-inning guys or whatever it was – without even knowing it, because it was one at-bat during the game. But if that's all I was facing, there's a reason they're pitching in those situations. It's pretty challenging. So it felt like we saw him on the field a decent amount, but we really didn't get a look at him offensively, I feel like. The defense speaks for itself. I'm just really impressed with how he carried himself. It's such a challenging situation to get called up in in a lot of ways.
"It can really derail some guys, just not having immediate success and not having defined role, wanting to prove yourself but also being a part of the team. He has such a nice combination of that confidence, how he carries himself. He looks like a big leaguer, and I mean that in the absolute best way. He carries himself with that swagger, but he was very open-minded as far picking people's brains and learning. I felt like it was really just a nice combination of those two things."
Hoerner was glad Crow-Armstrong got a cup of coffee in MLB late this season, believing it will set up him to succeed in 2024.
"It was really valuable for him and just important to remember where he started the year and how little professional baseball he's really played with the injury too," Hoerner said. "He's going to be a great major leaguer, and he's just so fun to be around. I'm all in."
