Cubs President Jed Hoyer Gets Blunt About Pete Crow-Armstrong's Second-Half Struggles

That's not what happened. PCA's stats plummeted in the second half, as he hit .216 with a .634 OPS, 6 home runs, and 8 stolen bases after the All-Star break, while Tucker (who missed time with an injury) produced 5 home runs and a .738 OPS.

Jed Hoyer Addresses Pete Crow-Armstrong's Second-Half Struggles

PCA's downward slide was more surprising than Tucker's, if only because it was much more drastic. And Cubs president Jed Hoyer addressed his star center fielder's second-half woes when addressing the media on October 15.

"In totality, [PCA] had a great year. Going 30/30 and driving in almost 100 runs... He was so good early on, and then he struggled. And this is his first full season, and that's something I talked to Pete a lot about over the course of the year. This is the first time he has gone through an entire season," Hoyer said, per an X post from Marquee Sports Network.

"There could have been some fatigue there that set in, and going forward, I think he's gonna have to shrink his strike zone and he's gonna have to focus on those things," he added. "But I think he will. He's still 23 years old, he's still learning. So I expect him to keep getting better and better... I have no question that he'll continue to get better."

Hoyer went on to note that even when PCA isn't performing at the plate, he's still an impact player because of how great he is defensively, which Cubs fans got to see almost every day this season.

"I think he's the best defensive player in baseball," Hoyer added of PCA. "Not only did he have a huge role on our team offensively, but when you think about run prevention, he's right there at the top of it."

Hoyer doesn't sound too concerned about PCA's second-half, which is a sentiment that's shared by many Chicago fans.