Pete Crow-Armstrong is having a rough week with the Chicago Cubs, and it now stretches past one ugly at-bat.
The Cubs center fielder was back under the microscope on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field after a plate appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers in which he never offered at a pitch.
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That came during a 5-0 defeat to Milwaukee on May 20, in the middle of a stretch where his offensive struggles have started to show up elsewhere in his game.
His last 10 games through May 20 lay it out. Crow-Armstrong is hitting .118/.211/.206 with a .417 OPS over that span, with 12 strikeouts in 38 plate appearances.
The slump has spread past the strikeouts
The strikeouts are still part of it. Crow-Armstrong has gone down 54 times in 200 plate appearances this season, a strikeout rate above 27 percent.
His cold spell is now turning up beyond the batter’s box too. His value has always run on elite defense, speed, range and energy, and the recent mistakes in those areas are harder to miss while the bat is quiet.