Pete Crow-Armstrong has ‘flipped’ performance against lefties, taking game to MVP level

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was an at-bat in late June that showed everyone with the Chicago Cubs just how much Pete Crow-Armstrong had matured as a hitter. Late in a tie game against the San Diego Padres, lefty Adrian Morejon, one of the best relievers in the game, came in to face the Cubs’ leadoff man.

Crow-Armstrong worked a seven-pitch walk, at one point challenging a called strike three he rightfully felt was below the zone. Over the last few weeks, unprompted, manager Craig Counsell and team president Jed Hoyer have brought up that plate appearance to discuss Crow-Armstrong’s improvement against left-handed pitching.

“I thought his at-bat against Morejon was the best at-bat I’ve ever seen him take,” Hoyer said recently. “He battled one of the best lefties in the game and laid off a chase slider to walk. We all watched him not do that a lot of times in that situation.”

As a whole, no matter who is on the mound, Crow-Armstrong has improved his pitch recognition. It’s been especially impressive against lefties. Coming into the year, Crow-Armstrong had a 60 wRC+ against lefties. Last year, that number was 59, the sixth-worst in baseball among eligible players. This season, he’s dominated southpaws, posting a 165 wRC+, the 10th-best mark in the league.

“It has completely flipped,” Counsell said. “It’s just different now.”

But even this season, it’s been a process. Though his performance in April and May against lefties was strong (114 wRC+), it’s taken off since. In June, he posted a walk rate of 18.9 percent against southpaws; in July, that number soared to 26.7 percent. Overall, his wRC+ against lefties from June 1 on is a robust 217.

Assistant hitting coach John Mallee, who worked with Crow-Armstrong when the two were at Triple-A Iowa in 2023, has been working hard with the young center fielder for years now. The veteran hitting coach said hitting lefties is hard because batters don’t face them often, and lefties have a tendency to pull off the ball and roll over when facing same-sided pitchers. Crow-Armstrong has worked hard to stop doing that this season.

“His ability to stay in and have zero fear — you watch his video from the side, you wouldn’t know if a righty or lefty is pitching,” Mallee said. “The patterns and the movements don’t change. Usually, left-on-left guys have trouble with the ball going away from them. But his strike zone discipline has improved. He has a really good plan going into the box. He knows what he’s looking for, and he’s disciplined enough now to wait for it.”

That last point is what Crow-Armstrong has said is the reason for his higher walk rate in general. Before he gets to two strikes, he’s only looking for a certain type of pitch in a certain zone. A pitch might end up being a strike, but if it’s not what he was looking for, he’s laying off.

“He moved closer to the plate against lefties, so the plate’s underneath him,” Mallee said. “When he starts to feel himself lean or back up out of the way of things, he knows that’s probably a ball. So that move has helped him.”

Along with the patience, Crow-Armstrong is also starting to display power against lefties. In the first two months of the season, Crow-Armstrong had a .120 ISO and just four extra-base hits in those situations. Since then, he’s got a .313 ISO with five home runs, two doubles and two triples.

“I had some success against lefties in the minor leagues,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I feel like I’m capable of doing damage against anybody that steps on the mound. That’s important for me to take into every at-bat. I’m proud of the success I’ve had against left-handed pitching.”

It’s rare to see these types of leaps in these specific areas, especially so quickly. But Crow-Armstrong has proved over and over he is the exception. There are few talents like Crow-Armstrong.

Taking away the option for opposing managers to just go to a lefty to shut down Crow-Armstrong has helped him reach another level. The development has taken him from a very good player to one who is emerging as the National League MVP favorite. It’s made him a more complete player and ultimately, one of the best in the game.

“I’m not surprised,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’ve done the work, and I’ll continue to do so.”

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