Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has a bright future, but he'll have to wait his turn in line before he leads off on the north side. PCA has all the tools to be an excellent leadoff hitter if he can ever put it all together at the plate. However, at this point in his career, he's done little to prove he can get on base consistently enough to lead off in the modern game.
Someone ought to tell him that.
“Ultimately that’s where I want to end up,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But that’s (Ian Happ’s) job, and he does it exceptionally well. I don’t actively want to lead off. I want to keep doing what works, and I thought last year, switching Ian into the leadoff hole that second half changed things around for everybody.”
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Pete Crow-Armstrong isn't the Cubs leadoff hitter just yet
Crow-Armstrong isn't shy about his goals, but for now he understands that he's on the big-league roster for his glove, rather than his bat. He hopes to make progress at the plate this season, and thus be in consideration to move up in the lineup by the second half of the campaign.
“I think I’ll get to the point in my career where the offense is expected of me,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But until that’s a real thing, the goal is playing Gold Glove defense every day. It’s not about the Gold Glove at the end of the year. If I get there, I get there.”
PCA is correct in his assessment. Ian Happ is a far better leadoff option than the young outfielder at this juncture. Happ had a .782 OPS and 3.9 WAR in 2024. Crow-Armstrong had a .670 OPS, with almost all of his 2.3 WAR as a result of his defense. If all goes right with Crow-Armstrong this season, he'll have an OPS over .700, while securing a gold glove in center.
As for Counsell, he does not view Crow-Armstrong as a leadoff hitter candidate just yet. However, he does think Cubs fans should be patient with their young players, which includes PCA and Matt Shaw.
“I think we have to (show patience) with young players,” Counsell said. “We’ve seen it with Matt (Shaw) already. The league is going to challenge you at times, and it’s going to feel like, ‘Oh, man…’ It’s just a different level, man. It’s the best league in the world, and there is an adjustment to it."
Counsell will continue to try different players at leadoff, including Happ. If Crow-Armstrong produces at the plate, then perhaps the Cubs skipper will see things differently. For now, though, that is not the case.