Yardbarker
x
Jack’s Take: Pete Crow-Armstrong Owned The Crosstown Classic
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) hits a three-run home run against the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field. David Banks-Imagn Images

Jack’s Take: Pete Crow-Armstrong Owned The Crosstown Classic

Originally posted on Fastball on SI  |  By Jack Ankony  |  Last updated May 18, 2025 9:28 PM ET

CHICAGO – Gravity is a simple concept. Drop a baseball, and it’ll fall to the ground.

The term can be used in multiple ways, though. Watch the NBA playoffs, and analysts may use the term to describe an offensive player’s impact, like how Steph Curry elite 3-point shooting pulls defenders out to the perimeter.

While covering the Crosstown Classic this weekend at Wrigley Field, a comparison came to mind.

Pete Crow-Armstrong played with a gravitational pull. The 23-year-old rising star has become a must-watch player at the plate and in the field, and just about everything he did seemed to affect the White Sox, whose full attention was on him.

Take his at-bat in Sunday’s sixth inning for example. The game was tied 1-1, and third baseman Vidal Bruján led off with a single to break White Sox pitcher Jonathan Cannon’s streak of 13 straight outs. 

All eyes turned toward home plate as a good chunk of the 40,134 fans chanted “PCA.” Everything else was on hold for a moment, because Crow-Armstrong has become appointment viewing. Cannon racked his brain for a way to retire the Cubs’ red-hot center fielder.

"He's kind of hit everything we've thrown him all weekend,” Cannon said postgame. 

Cannon decided against an offspeed pitch, knowing Crow-Armstrong had crushed those all series. He certainly didn’t want to speed up his bat and give him a chance to elevate something. He thought a four-seam fastball was an OK option, but landed on the cutter.

“He hadn't really taken a great swing at that,” Cannon said.

Cannon’s pitch landed on the outer half of the plate, but Crow-Armstrong managed to pull it down the first base line and off the wall in shallow left field. So focused on the Cubs’ speedster, White Sox right fielder Michael A. Taylor threw the ball to second base, but it’d take a perfect throw to nab Crow-Armstrong, who’s in the 96th percentile of sprint speed, trying to stretch a double. 

Crow-Armstrong slid head-first safely into second, and the attention on him allowed Bruján round third and head home. White Sox shortstop Chase Meidroth made a strong throw home, but Bruján was called safe, a ruling that stood after review. 

That broke the tie and the floodgates for a three-run sixth inning that gave the Cubs the boost they needed to secure a 6-2 victory and series sweep. In large part, thanks to Crow-Armstrong’s spark.

That was just one moment in a series where Crow-Armstrong’s stardom continued to grow during  a season in which he’s tied for second in MLB with Bobby Witt Jr. with 2.8 wins above replacement, behind only Aaron Judge, per FanGraphs. 

Crow-Armstrong owned the Crosstown Classic. Across three games, he went 8-for-14 with four runs one home run, eight RBI and a stolen base. Between the runs he scored and drove in, he out-produced the entire White Sox roster, which managed just eight runs all weekend. 

During Sunday’s game, Marquee Network flashed a few more eye-popping numbers. Since April 12, Crow-Armstrong led MLB with 24 extra-base hits, ahead of Shohei Ohtani with 22 and Aaron Judge with 20. He’s the first player since 1901 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, two triples and 14 stolen bases in their first 46 games. He added two triples this weekend, and the Wrigley Field crowd was sent into a frenzy as Crow-Armstrong pounded his chest after reaching safely. 

Crow-Armstrong was a top-30 prospect in 2023 and 2024, so his success isn’t necessarily a surprise. But even the most optimistic supporters didn’t think he’d have this much power – 12 home runs in 47 games, or 41 home run pace across 162 games. His three-run home run off White Sox starter Shane Smith, who has a 2.05 ERA, played a big role in Friday's 13-3 win. He’s also pacing nearly 50 stolen bases. 

We haven’t even touched on his center field defense, which is arguably the best part of Crow-Armstrong’s game. On Saturday, White Sox outfielder Joshua Palacios hit the ball 396 feet with a 101.7 mph exit velocity, a ball that usually ends up in the stands. But Crow-Armstrong paced back toward the ivy-covered brick wall and caught the ball back-handed. 

That’s one part of what’s been an incredible defensive season. Crow-Armstrong leads all MLB players with eight outs above average. He also leads the league with four of what MLB considers five-star outs, or plays with a catch probability between 0% and 25%. The next highest player has six outs above average and two five-star outs. 

There are many superlatives one can use to describe Crow-Armstrong and highlight reel plays of his  to analyze. But after Crow-Armstrong’s six-RBI game on Friday, White Sox manager Will Venable wrapped up his assessment of the star in a way that perhaps matters most for the 28-19, NL Central-leading Cubs.

“He can beat you in a lot of ways.”

Related MLB columns

  • REVISITING PCA-BAEZ TRADE: The Cubs won this trade by a mile, but it hasn't stopped the Mets from building a successful team. CLICK HERE
  • MLB POWER RANKINGS: The Fastball On SI staff has released their first MLB power rankings for the 2025 season. Check out how each voter ranked all 30 teams, plus their comments and other notes on the league. CLICK HERE
  • QUESTIONS FOR NL CENTRAL TEAMS: Nearing the 40-game mark of the 2025 MLB season, the Chicago Cubs have a three-game lead in the National League Central division standings. Here's one question for each team. CLICK HERE

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.