![\"Pete](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2281470853-scaled-e1783122010975.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCHICAGO \u2014 Pete Crow-Armstrong has had hot stretches before. At this point last season, the dynamic center fielder was putting up the type of offensive performance that had some wondering whether he could win MVP.<\/p>\n
But after being named National League Player of the Month for June, everyone seems to agree that this is different. The player Crow-Armstrong is turning into is a level above the one everyone saw last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw him last year kind of go on a home-run, stolen-base barrage,\u201d team president Jed Hoyer said. \u201cThat part of it doesn\u2019t make me think differently. I think what makes me think differently is the walks and the approach at the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n
What has changed for Pete Crow-Armstrong in 2026?<\/p>\n
Derek VanRiper and Patrick Mooney<\/p>\n
Manager Craig Counsell echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has not had this month where he walked this much,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cThat\u2019s the new thing. That added piece, although the home run is still better, it\u2019s something that\u2019s really valuable. He\u2019s proving something to himself that he can do both. That\u2019s a great player that can do both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with putting up a wild 235 wRC+ with 11 homers, five doubles and two triples, Crow-Armstrong posted an impressive 13.7 percent walk rate in June. It\u2019s an aspect of his game that\u2019s steadily grown as the year has gone on.<\/p>\n
Last season, Crow-Armstrong never had a walk rate above 5.1 percent in any month. His previous career high was 8.2 percent in August 2024. But that was an outlier. This season, he\u2019s gone from 7 percent to 10.7 percent to June\u2019s breakout 13.7 percent. It\u2019s led to an overall walk rate of 10.2 percent.<\/p>\n
In the spring, Crow-Armstrong talked about perhaps not swinging as much and raising his walk rate. It seemed like a potentially dangerous plan. A player known for his aggressive approach who had months of tremendous success, making a significant change? That can lead to disaster.<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong explained why he wasn\u2019t concerned that would happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I framed it and the way it was presented to me really gave me some confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not going up there and looking to not swing. That\u2019s not how you walk, really. But it\u2019s looking for one thing and sticking to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Pete Crow-Armstrong\u2019s more selective approach at the plate contributed to him winning National League Player of the Month in June. (Thearon W. Henderson \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
For Crow-Armstrong, there was a revelation after an at-bat against Raisel Iglesias on May 13 in Atlanta. With two outs in the ninth, Iglesias, who mostly throws fastballs and changeups to lefties, hung a slider. It was a perfect pitch to take a hack at and send a long distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI barreled the crap out of it, just straight up in the air,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cI came back and was like, \u2018How did I miss that?\u2019 and (Alex Bregman\u2019s) like, \u2018Well, you weren\u2019t looking for it.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong said the way Bregman presented that to him kind of made it all click. It may have been a message he\u2019d heard before, but perhaps a little differently. Something about what Bregman said in that moment resonated more with Crow-Armstrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was something that I felt like I could take into the game with me,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t, \u2018I gotta swing less to walk. I gotta try harder to swing at this pitch and this other pitch.\u2019 No, if you\u2019re so dialed in on one pitch, then the sh\u2013 that looks different, you don\u2019t have to swing whether it\u2019s a strike or not. It\u2019s being comfortable and confident enough being down in the count.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong\u2019s point is that he should have taken that pitch, the first of that at-bat, from Iglesias. In his head, he\u2019s looking for a fastball or a changeup. It doesn\u2019t matter that he got a meatball.<\/p>\n
Why this July will be an exciting month for MLB<\/p>\n
Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may have gotten a good swing off, but you may have been this late or this far under it because you weren\u2019t looking for it,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cYou can\u2019t get pissed at yourself if you weren\u2019t looking for the slider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong said it is about being comfortable being down in the count. His numbers don\u2019t dip significantly this year if he does fall behind. When he gets to two strikes, obviously the mindset changes. But compared with before, he\u2019s much more selective than he was in the past. Crow-Armstrong said when he\u2019s really locked in, as he is now, he can take a few more chances and they pay off. But this change gives him something he can fall back on when he may not feel as in sync.<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong\u2019s swing rate has dropped 9.1 percentage points, from 60.1 last season to 51 percent this year. That\u2019s the biggest drop in baseball. His chase rate has dropped over five points, but his in-zone swinging is down nearly 12 points. Ideally, hitters are not chasing and are aggressive in the zone. But that works only if you can do damage on the strikes you\u2019re swinging at.<\/p>\n
\u201cJed made a good point,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cHe said, \u2018Look, the homers are great and an awesome bonus, but you\u2019re most dangerous when you\u2019re on first base.\u2019 Taking that to heart and making that another thing about my identity as a baseball player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counsell pointed out that, actually, the homers are more dangerous. And you can\u2019t lose that. What Crow-Armstrong believes Hoyer\u2019s point is is that outside of those 30-35 home runs, there are another 600-plus plate appearances. With Crow-Armstrong\u2019s speed, being able to take walks with regularity is incredibly valuable.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a fine line to walk. Hoyer agreed there was a risk that changing what Crow-Armstrong does in this way could potentially sap the power. But the young player has done what few can, and increased the walk rate while avoiding taking away from other parts of his game that make him special. Crow-Armstrong entered play Friday with a .374 on-base percentage, 21st in baseball. He\u2019s paired that with a .239 ISO, 19th in baseball. Those who can do both are the most special offensive talents in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe execution of it is where the beauty is,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cThat\u2019s where you want to be \u2014 you want to be, \u2018Yes, yes, yes, no,\u2019 all the time. Especially with someone with power, they want to be in that mode. But the \u2018no\u2019 part is the hard part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong is already a star. The Cubs knew what his potential was entering the season because he showed them last summer just how high the highs can be. This is a player with elite power, speed and defense. That\u2019s largely why the Cubs felt good about giving him a seven-year, $115 million extension before the season. But now, he\u2019s suddenly added patience.<\/p>\n
Can he be even better than anyone expected?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that can continue,\u201d Hoyer said, \u201cI think it does raise what he can be as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 Pete Crow-Armstrong has had hot stretches before. At this point last season, the dynamic center fielder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[479,363,99],"class_list":["post-741929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}