Chicago Cubs coach affirms PCA fear is real

The Chicago Cubs have a real one in Pete Crow-Armstrong. To drive home that fact even further, Wednesday’s game at Wrigley Field against the Atlanta Braves showcased even more of the awesomeness exuding from the 24-year-old.

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After a 3-for-4 game in an 8-4 win—posting 2 home runs, a triple, and 3 RBIs—Cubs manager Craig Counsell could only marvel and play the role of captivated observer.

“You’re shaking your head in amazement sometimes. In amazement,” Counsell told reporters after the game. “You spend your whole life in baseball, and you just don’t see this happen on the baseball field. You’re grateful to be a part of it. You’re grateful to see things like this.

“And you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this, because they’re going to tell their kids about it, they’re going to tell their grandkids about seasons like this.”

Crow-Armstrong winning the National League MVP award is a lock at this point. The stats he’s put up and the acclaim he’s garnered guarantee that. On the season, he’s hit 44 home runs and posted 105 RBIs. He’s 3 stolen bases away from being only the seventh major leaguer to post a 40-home run, 40-stolen base season. He’s also likely to finish the year with a 10+ WAR rating.

The fear of pitching to PCA

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For much of the year, pitchers seem to have been lost when it comes to how to pitch the young star. “PCA” hits pretty much everything, pretty much wherever it come across. And with his newfound discerning eye and patience at the plate, the fear from opposing pitchers is very much real.

Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly recently talked about this in an interview with Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.

“Pitchers are scared to throw in,” Kelly said. “They don’t throw in very much at all, so he doesn’t get a ton of pitches that are hard-hard on the inner line. A lot of times, they miss out over, and that’s where a lot of the power is. And then you can’t bury a breaking ball low enough. Because if you make a mistake — and even if it’s a ball — we’ve seen what he can do to it.”

Crow-Armstrong’s hand speed/bat speed make him a hard-to-beat challenge for any pitcher. That same speed, combined with stellar reaction time, make him a devastating punisher of mistake pitches.

But basically, even a pitcher’s best pitch, impeccably placed, could find itself barreled hard—and maybe into the bleachers.

Maturity

His physical ability was never a question. Crow-Armstrong has been a well-regarded prospect since before he was a teen. The real turning point in his development has been his developing maturity at the plate and his ability to maintain focus on positive steps forward.

“He’s really done a great job of managing how much he swings and not going into a rabbit hole,” Kelly said. “He’s figured out that sometimes less is more.

“For him, it’s rhythm and timing and athleticism. It’s not like a swing mechanic where my hands have to be in this place, my front elbow has to be at this point. There’s a lot of rhythm to it, which he’s able to maintain.”

PCA has definitely been able to keep that balance between discipline and the free flow of natural ability. He’ll be looking to take his impact bat (and defense) to the playoffs and power up a pitching-deficient Cubs team counting on extreme firepower.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-pete-crow-armstrong-hitting-analysis-dustin-kelly-mvp/