PCA’s Historic Stolen Base Streak: The Cubs’ Rookie on the Rise
Over the last couple weeks, the Chicago Cubs offense has been pretty good. For the first time all season, it feels as if all parts of the Cubs game has been clicking on all cylinders, hitting, pitching and even beginning to wreck some havoc on the base paths. One of the biggest reasons for that, has been Cubs rookie, Pete Crow-Armstrong.
After a slow start to his official rookie season, PCA has truly begun to break out. While we will get to the bat later, PCA is officially starting to “chase” history.
PCA who was touted as one of the best 5-tool prospects in many years has always been known for his own personal tool of speed, and he has used it to the best of his advantage. Not only can he cover all parts of the outfield, but he is not afraid to steal a couple of bases.
So far to start his rookie season, PCA is a perfect 22-for-22 in stolen base attempts this season. With his perfect percentage of stealing bases in his rookie season, he is beginning to enter uncharted territory. Since the beginning of both leagues, only Mitchell Paige in his rookie season had a better percentage of consecutive steals without being thrown out.
We always knew about the speed, but to see it come to fruition in the Major Leagues is a great thing to see. In all reality, seeing PCA’s improvement since the All-Star break has been a gratifying thing to see. With the Cubs close to out of contention, it is so important to see the young players continue to make meaningful contributions to the Major League club for the rest of the season, and seeing PCA begin to blossom has been awesome.
I mentioned the continued improvements of Crow-Armstrong, and one of the biggest reasons for that improvement has also been in his bat. In Amrstrong’s last seven games, he has been slashing .304/.333/.478. That is to go along with an OPS of .902 along with 4 extra base hits and 5 RBI. Plus a big problem early on in the year for PCA was his strikeout percentage, he has only struck out 3 times in his last 10 games. There are even more stats to back up just how good he has been throughout this stretch since the All-Star break.
I feel like going into the year, PCA’s improvement was one of the biggest things to keep your eye on as the season went along. After all, he is a former top ten prospect and so many Cubs fans have had such high hopes for him. Especially after his slow start last year, Cubs fans calling for him to get more playing time, it has been good to see the continued improvement and potential that he might have. Throughout the rest of the season, whether the Cubs are in contention or not, continue to keep your eyes on Pete Crow-Armstrong, as he is one of the most important pieces that the Cubs have.