How a renewed approach in the box led to PCA's second All-Star nod

CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong stepped into the box to face Braves closer Raisel Iglesias during the Cubs’ trip to Atlanta in May and knew what to expect. Iglesias leans heavily on his fastball and changeup -- rarely featuring his slider, especially against a left-handed batter.

Iglesias fired a first-pitch slider, and Crow-Armstrong popped out over the infield for the final out of that contest back on May 13. When the Cubs returned home for the next homestand, Alex Bregman pulled the Cubs center fielder aside and offered some veteran insight, using that moment against Iglesias as an example.

“The way people say things sometimes,” Crow-Armstrong said, “you may have heard it before, but for some reason the way he said it clicked with me.”

The message and concept were simple: stay disciplined with the specific pitch or part of the strike zone in the crosshairs for any given at-bat. Do not waver from the plan -- even if that means watching a pitch drop in for a strike.

None of this was new, of course, for Crow-Armstrong. But Bregman challenged the center fielder to turn it into a sort of game in the coming weeks. Crow-Armstrong took that on and found something that led to a historic offensive showing in June, followed by a place on the National League All-Star team for the second straight season.

“What he’s done has been so special to watch,” Bregman said. “I feel like he can do that for a long, long time.”

Heading into the final road trip of the first half, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .292 with 19 homers, 14 doubles, four triples, 49 RBIs, 23 steals and a .910 OPS through 90 games. None of that production is surprising, after he became the second Cubs player to enjoy a 30-30 season last year and started for the NL All-Star team.

The difference right now can be spotted immediately in the plate-discipline categories.

Crow-Armstrong currently has a .383 on-base percentage -- up from .287 last year. He has already drawn 41 walks, after having only 29 last season. The center fielder has logged a 10.5% walk rate overall, following a 4.5% showing in ‘25. And his year-to-year drop in swing rate (9.3%) is the largest among qualified batters, per Statcast.

All these walks are the byproduct of Crow-Armstrong’s improved process.

“The goal has never been more walks,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said. “We know that he’s at his best when he’s aggressive. And when he’s aggressive and seeing the right pitches and has a really good plan, it’s almost like an automatic shutdown if a pitch is not where he’s looking.”

The at-bat with Iglesias offered Bregman the perfect scenario to bring to Crow-Armstrong.

Iglesias has only thrown his slider 4.8% of the time this season, and that rate drops further against lefties. Can Crow-Armstrong crush a hanging slider? Of course. But if his mind is focused on a fastball or changeup, that slight moment of hesitation when trying to jump on a slider can end in a flyout, as it did in Atlanta.

“The goal of the conversation,” Bregman said, “was to go up there hunting a pitch and being all-in on that pitch. And if you don’t get it, you don’t have to try and cover everything. Just cover what you’re looking for. I feel like we see damage go up when that happens. We see walks go up when that happens. We see an increase in better swing decisions when that happens.

“And when we get the pitch that we’re looking for, we don’t miss it. Those were some of the things that -- looking from the outside in the year before -- kind of studying up on his game, some things I thought could help him.”

Crow-Armstrong said they chatted during the Cubs’ series against the Astros at home in May. In the 50 games before that set, which began on May 22, he had a .225/.302/.357 slash line. Starting with that series against the Astros, Crow-Armstrong has hit .370/.471/.727 with a 13.9% walk rate (15th in MLB among qualified hitters in that span) over the next 40 games, during which he has also made tweaks to his stance.

“He’s proving something to himself, probably,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s most important: that he can do both. That’s obviously a great player that can do both -- that’s going to get on base and hit home runs. That’s an important thing.”

Counsell has noted how Crow-Armstrong is best when he is in “swing mode,” which can remain the case even if the rate of swings drops. That is due to the increased stubbornness when it comes to sticking to the plan in a particular plate appearance.

“I know that I’m capable of this kind of production,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m excited to keep finding out what I’m really capable of and just making sure that I do that, and do that for this team.”