Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong overcoming recent drama with strong performance of late

Until Wednesday night's badly-needed win over the Pittsburgh Pirates that put the Chicago Cubs' 10-game losing streak to bed, there wasn't much of anything to get excited about.

An incident with a fan and a handful of defensive miscues from the always-excellent Pete Crow-Armstrong had the fanbase spiraling, with some fans going so far as to call for the All-Star center fielder to be demoted to Triple-A Iowa. But when you open up the hood and take a peek, there has been a lot to like about PCA's game of late.

Since May 6, he's been a top-20 player in the league in terms of fWAR, even as a team-wide slump took center stage as the Cubs saw a multiple-game lead in the Central quickly evaporate. During that stretch, his .197 average left much to be desired, but he's bandaged that up with an impressive .341 OBP, driven by a 13.4 percent walk rate.

The power still hasn't arrived (.364 SLG since 5/6, .363 SLG on the season entering Thursday night's finale in Pittsburgh), but some subtle stance adjustments have seemed to make a difference this week, as well. But where he's found the most success this year might be the most surprising story of the season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has suddenly become a left-on-left threat

Crow-Armstrong has basically been a league-average bat this year (99 OPS+), but he's been incredibly effective against left-handed pitching, a dramatic shift from a year ago. On the season, the Cubs outfielder is slashing .271/.363/.400 against southpaws, including a 159 wRC+ since early May (although that's buoyed by an unsustainable .417 BABIP).

His strikeout numbers are higher against lefties, but he's found a way to be effective against them regardless. The power may not have been there to this point, and the overall numbers certainly aren't living up to fans' expectations after his recent contract extension. Still, a walk rate that's more than double his 2025 mark and a recent drop in his strikeout rate are reasons to believe there's more to come from the dynamic Chicago outfielder.

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