Pete

Crow-Armstrong

A pair of the most exciting young outfielders in the game will join team captain Aaron Judge along with Cal Raleigh and Paul Skenes for the upcoming international tournament next spring. Carroll notched his first Silver Slugger Award this past season when he compiled an .883 OPS with a career-high 31 homers and 32 steals in 143 games. Meanwhile, PCA blossomed into an overnight sensation for the Cubs, registering an extremely impressive 31-homer, 35-steal campaign.

Crow-Armstong (center field), Ian Happ (left field) and Nico Hoerner (second base) made it three Gold Glove winners for the Cubs. Also chosen were Logan Webb (pitcher), Patrick Bailey (catcher), Matt Olson (first base), Ke’Bryan Hayes (third base), Masyn Winn (shortstop), Fernando Tatis Jr. (right field) and Javier Sanoja (utilityman). Those seem like all of the right choices for the most part, though we’re once again seeing there’s just no reason for there to be a utilityman Gold Glove handed out every year.

Chicago will attempt to stave off elimination for the second straight contest at Wrigley Field by rolling out the exact same lineup, which features Busch in the leadoff spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. The 27-year-old slugger blasted a solo homer — his third postseason round-tripper — in the Cubs’ pivotal Game 3 win. Here’s the full lineup: Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Cubs manager Craig Counsell will shake things up with veteran Justin Turner leading off, while Michael Busch starts on the bench. Lefty opener Aaron Ashby will take the ball for Milwaukee to kick off the contest before Quinn Priester enters in a bulk relief role. Here’s the full lineup: Turner (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstring (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Suzuki has been bumped up to the cleanup spot to face Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, with Ian Happ moved down a couple spots, after going 3-for-11 with one homer and a pair of doubles in Chicago’s Wild Card Series victory over San Diego. The 31-year-old corner outfielder finished the season with an impressive power surge and is clearly building some momentum heading into fantasy drafts next spring. Here’s the full lineup: Michael Busch (1B), Nico Hoerner (2B), Kyle Tucker (DH), Suzuki (RF), Happ (LF), Carson Kelly (C), Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Dansby Swanson (SS) and Matt Shaw (3B).

Crow-Armstrong opened the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI single off of Yu Darvish in the second inning, giving the Cubs an early 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish. He also singled in the sixth inning and again in the eighth, though he was cut down attempting to steal second base that time. After a very rough second half of the season, it appears as though Crow-Armstrong may be rejuvenated under the bright lights of the postseason.

PCA had 27 homers and 28 steals through 102 games, making the 30/30 season seemingly assured. However, while he reached 30 steals on Aug. 10, the three homers have been a long time coming; he hit just one in August and today’s was his second in September. He joins Sammy Sosa, who did it twice, to become only the second 30/30 Cub. Crow-Armstrong was hit in the knee by a slider in the seventh inning today and was in some pain, but he remained in anyway, even with the Cubs leading 11-1.

The man they call PCA hit his 29th homer of the season and gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead in the sixth. The steal was the 35th of the season for Crow-Armstrong, and he’s got a pretty good shot at a 30-40 season. Yes, most of that damage came in the first half and there’s real questions about whether he can replicate this in the future, but it’d be foolish to just completely ignore the production of Crow-Armstrong in 2025.

The decision to bump Crow-Armstrong to the bottom of the order has more to do with the presence of Atlanta ace Chris Sale on the mound than anything else. The 23-year-old power/speed combo outfielder tallied two RBI and also swiped a pair of bases during Tuesday’s lopsided win.

Crow-Armstrong opened the scoring in the ballgame with a sacrifice fly off of Spencer Strider in the first inning. He then added on with an RBI single in the third that made it 2-0. The 23-year-old outfielder also drew a walk in the fifth inning and swiped second base, but was left stranded there. Crow-Armstrong then was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning and nabbed second base again before scoring on a bases-loaded walk by Dansby Swanson. On the season, the budding superstar is slashing .253/.294/.492 with 28 homers, 87 RBI and 34 stolen bases across 580 plate appearances.