The Rundown: Crow-Armstrong’s Mays-Like April, Cubs Take Down Skenes, Trout Injured Again
“Magneto said, ‘Now the time has come to gather our forces and run!'” – Magneto & Titanium Man by Paul McCartney & Wings
Pete Crow-Armstrong had a helluva April. The 23-year-old centerfielder entered the month with a .148 batting average, no home runs or stolen bases, one double, and two RBI. Those Cubs fans who are notoriously too quick to panic immediately wrote him off as a bust. April Fools, right? Something or somebody lit a fire under Crow-Armstrong’s mercurial feet because he busted out over the next 23 games.
For the month of April, PCA was 29-for-93 (.312) with nine doubles, a triple, six home runs, 19 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. That’s exactly what one month of a 7-8 WAR season looks like. I can’t say with certainty that that kind of production is sustainable, but the outfielder is on pace for a 30/106/60 season with 116 runs scored. If there is a blemish to his game, it’s that he takes too few walks. Otherwise, Say Hey PCA looked a lot like a young Willie Mays in that admittedly small sample size. He has to be among the favorites to win NL Player of the Month. Pete Alonso, Carson Kelly, and Corbin Carroll are the competition as I see it.
Let’s face it, Crow-Armstrong will never approach 660 career home runs or a .301 batting average, so the comparison ends with his scorching month of at-bats. Mays averaged 7.1 WAR over 23 seasons and is the greatest center fielder ever, but is it too much to expect a 50.0 WAR by PCA? I’ll pump the brakes a bit for now while also admitting the potential exists. I’d settle for prime Jacoby Ellsbury, even if his window of elite play was one of baseball’s tiniest.
The Cubs haven’t had a bona fide center fielder since Dexter Fowler, and Crow-Armstrong could eventually be a similar or better leadoff hitter with at least a 40-point jump in OBP. That said, there is nothing wrong with his production from the mid-to-bottom third because he lengthens the lineup, especially with the way Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya are swinging the bat. The Cubs will run away with the division if PCA can stack a coupla-three 1.8 WAR months.
By the way, I’ll be at the Cubs-Brewers game on Sunday. If you’re coming to Milwaukee, meet me at Steny’s before the game and we can ride the free shuttle bus to AFI Field. The food is excellent at Steny’s, and I’ll arrive at 11:00 for brunch. The B-52 Breakfast Burrito is to die for. Otherwise, I’ll be sitting in section 129 row 14, wearing my 2025 City Connect jersey. I’ll probably be at Boone & Crockett after the game for all-day Happy Hour.
Cubs News & Notes
- Crow-Armstrong has been spectacular with the glove so far, but that’s expected.
- The Cubs enter the Brewers series boasting a spiffy 72% chance of making the playoffs.
- Chicago flexed its muscles in an 8-3 win over Paul Skenes and the Pirates to take the series 2-1. Seiya Suzuki blasted two taters in the contest and now leads the team with nine.
- The Cubs have seven series wins this season.
- Craig Counsell asked his team to be patient with Skenes and work the counts. The Pittsburgh ace was gassed by the 5th inning, when the Cubs rocked him for three home runs.
- Colin Rea earned his first quality start since joining the Cubs. I don’t often promote other blogs, but Jason Ross at North Side Baseball writes that Rea is starting to look like a right-handed version of Shōta Imanaga, and that that’s the pitching infrastructure’s intent.
- The Cubs are the No. 3 team in the latest power rankings by The Ringer, trailing the Dodgers and Mets, and just ahead of the Yankees.
- ESPN ranks the Cubs as the fifth-best team in baseball.
- Matt Shaw is still the team’s optimal choice ($) to play third base. The North Siders have used 13 players at the hot corner since Opening Day last year, and none of the seven players who started at third in 2024 are with the team.
- Shortstop Fernando Cruz made the list of top Rookie League prospects to watch this season.
- Evan Altman provided the 411 on Cruz in January, just in case you forgot about the 17-year-old Dominican prospect. I forgot about him because he was favorably mentioned while I was in Punta Cana last week, and I was clueless.
- Kyle Tucker is eighth on this week’s list of top 10 power hitters.
Odds & Sods
To think, Marge’s Still and Schaller’s Pump had yet to be established. Ross Barnes deserved a bottle of cold suds after hitting the National League’s first home run, but taverns were hard to find near the ballpark in those days. I suppose a glass of bathtub gin and some pickled eggs might have done the trick.
Today In 1876: Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings (the original #Cubs!) hits the first HR in National League history! #MLB #Baseball pic.twitter.com/1suz3V3PNt
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) May 2, 2025
Central Intelligence
- Cincinnati (17-15): New Reds’ closer Emilio Pagán had an offseason epiphany that the key to saving games is just getting three outs. EMILLLLIOOOOO!
- Milwaukee (16-16): Brewers reliever Craig Yoho hadn’t allowed a home run in three seasons, but Miguel Vargas happily stopped that streak on Thursday. Undaunted, indeed, except at The Rate. Milwaukee has lost six of its last 10 to the Giants, Cardinals, and White Sox, all on the road.
- St. Louis (14-18): The Cardinals are close to moving on from former first-round picks Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker.
- Pittsburgh (12-20): Keep Kavan Markwood in your thoughts and prayers. He’s the Pirates fan who accidentally fell 21 feet onto the field the other night. The young man is in critical condition.
How About That!
The Angels placed Mike Trout on the injured list with a bruised knee.
No reliever has been more dominant this season than the Blue Jays’ Jeff Hoffman.
MLB changed its umpire evaluation criteria, leading to fewer called strikes on the edges of the zone.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently suggested Shohei Ohtani may have a limited future on the mound.
The Nationals agreed to terms with left-hander Andrew Chafin on a one-year contract on Thursday.
Bobby Witt Jr. extended his career-high hitting streak to 22 games.
Red Sox starter Walker Buehler is dealing with a shoulder strain and will likely miss at least his next start.
Thursday’s Three Stars
- Suzuki – The Cubs’ DH had two home runs, the first of which essentially knocked Skenes out of the game.
- Juan Soto – Baseball’s richest non-deferred player also had two homers, but his team lost.
- Sean Burke – The White Sox starter shut out the Brewers yesterday, so his entry is automatic. Burke faces the Reds in two weeks. Rinse, repeat.
Extra Innings
Who knew Skenes was mortal? Suzuki, Tucker, and Dansby Swanson all went deep in the 5th inning of yesterday’s game.
back-to-back homers for the lead! pic.twitter.com/ttbmD0J8tw
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 1, 2025
They Said it
- “This is not a place for a young player to tinker. We want [Shaw] to be our third baseman. We want him to be here. But he needs to work on some stuff now and reset. Hopefully, he can do that. In the meantime, we’ll probably have a little bit of a revolving door there while we play matchups. I would love it if one of these guys would get hot and grab more playing time.” – Jed Hoyer
Friday Walk-Up Song
Listen for the nod to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and some silverware thrown down a stairwell.
