This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- Within the Cubs’ eight-homer outburst against the Padres on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon -- tying a single-game record for the long, storied franchise -- was another shot off the bat of center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. The calendar might have flipped to July, but he is keeping his foot on the gas.
Crow-Armstrong also homered on Tuesday night, putting one final exclamation point on what was an historic offensive performance in June. He was without question the Cubs’ top performer last month, but also the top hitter in baseball over that span. A place on the National League All-Star team seems inevitable.
“It’s pretty exciting to watch a guy like Pete have the month of June that he had,” Cubs starter Jameson Taillon said. “That dude can carry a team when he goes. That’s electric to watch.”
Crow-Armstrong made some clear changes to his approach and stance in late May -- detailed in this recent newsletter -- that helped him piece together an all-time showing in June. When the smoke cleared on the month, the 24-year-old had hit .381/.468/.781 with 11 homers, five doubles, two triples, 20 RBIs, 21 runs, 40 hits, 82 total bases, 17 walks and eight stolen bases.
There are multiple ways you can slice Crow-Armstrong’s June statistics to get a look into just how special this month was for the center fielder.
Crow-Armstrong was the first Cubs batter with at least 11 homers, 20 RBIs and 40 hits in a month since Nick Castellanos in August of ‘19. Add the 17 walks into the equation and you have to go back to Hall of Famer Hack Wilson, who did it in July 1929 and August 1930. Throw in Crow-Armstrong’s eight stolen bases and he stands alone for any month by a Cubs batter.
In fact, Crow-Armstrong is only the second player since at least 1920 (when RBIs became an official stat) to have at least eight steals, 11 homers, 17 walks and 40 hits in one month. The only other player to do it was Barry Bonds in 1992, but that was in a September-October period featuring 31 games. Crow-Armstrong did it in 26 games in June.
Here are the rest of my picks for the Cubs’ best of June:
Pitcher of the month: RHP Ben Brown
This was a month of survival for the Cubs’ pitching staff. Due to injury issues, Chicago used 23 total pitchers in June. That included 17 players making at least one relief appearance and nine taking a turn as a starter. Brown landed on the 15-day IL due to a stress reaction in his neck, but not before logging a 1.65 ERA in three starts (16 1/3 innings) and leading the team in pitching WAR (0.4 per FanGraphs) for June.
Reliever of the month: LHP Ryan Rolison
Rolison was a source of stability within the external chaos that surrounded the relief corps in June. The lefty made 12 appearances, serving as an opener twice, picking up two wins, two holds and notching his first career save. He pitched in every inning at some point, with the exception of the third and fourth. Rolison finished June with a 0.68 ERA, 15 strikeouts, six hits allowed and three walks in 13 1/3 innings.
Game of the month (batting): Crow-Armstrong
In a 5-4 win over the Rockies on June 15, Crow-Armstrong turned in the 13th cycle in Cubs history. It was also the first reverse cycle in franchise history, meaning the center fielder collected the homer first, followed by the triple, double and single. Crow-Armstrong capped off his historic showing with a key sacrifice fly in the victory.
Game of the month (pitching): RHP Javier Assad
On June 7 against the Giants, Assad was pressed into duty in the second inning when Taillon exited due to an injury. The righty then pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings between the second and eighth, registering 0.456 Win Probability Added (second-highest for a Chicago pitcher so far this year). Chicago lost, 2-1, in 10 innings, but Assad’s effort was “heroic” in the words of manager Craig Counsell.
Defensive play of the month: Crow-Armstrong
Not only has Crow-Armstrong reached an absurd level in the batter’s box, he has continued to play elite defense in center. One snapshot of his MLB-leading Fielding Run Value (17) came in the third inning on June 11 in Colorado. With plenty of room to fly in Coors Field, Crow-Armstrong glided 67 feet in 3.8 seconds and made a diving catch to rob a hit from TJ Rumfield. The play had a 15% catch probability, per Statcast.