The Chicago Cubs received some promising injury news on Tuesday, as outfielder Ian Happ is expected to be activated from the injured list. Happ, at his best, is an All-Star caliber outfielder. He's won three gold glove to boot, and has the hardware to back up hitting in the top half of the Cubs lineup. The question is whether Happ will get the call as Chicago's leadoff hitter, as he has in the past. Pete Crow-Armstrong may have a problem with that.
PCA has been electric for the Cubs so far this season. Crow-Armstrong has emerged as an early-season NL MVP candidate, and had already proven himself defensively. Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who doubted whether Crow-Armstrong could take on the role as leadoff hitter this spring, has been impressed with the young slugger so far this season.
"It’s what special players are capable of-- impacting all areas of the game," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of PCA (h/t MLB.com's Jordan Bastian). "Swinging the bat. Power. Baserunning. Defense. It was a wonderful game, and he made his presence felt in a big way, for sure."
Cubs have a tough call to make with Pete Crow-Armstrong
The good news for Counsell is that he doesn't have to make a decision right away, and he's typically right about these things. Sticking with Crow-Armstrong at leadoff – at least for now while he's producing at such a high clip – makes the most sense. Happ is a team-first guy and is still getting back into the groove. There's no rush to force him back into the leadoff spot.
Carter Hawkins gave a promising update on Happ just the other day, but made it clear that he still has to 'check some boxes.'
"Yeah, I mean Ian, as you said, is coming along, he's kinda checking some of the boxes now to getting back towards the field. I would hope that that's, y'know, a close to minimum stay, if not minimum stay, we'll see how it all plays out over the next few days, he has to continue to check those boxes. But, y'know, he's putting the work in to make sure he comes back, but comes back fully healthy," Hawkins told the media.
If Crow-Armstrong struggles this season, then the Cubs can turn to Happ. The role of leadoff hitter should be based on performance, and at least for now PCA is getting on base and create havoc more than most players in MLB. That ought to be enough.