Pete Crow-Armstrong DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (hamstring) is back in Tuesday's Cactus League lineup against the San Diego Padres, starting in center field and batting seventh. Right-hamstring tightness caused Crow-Armstrong to be scratched from Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but it obviously wasn't a very serious concern since he's back in the lineup a day later and playing center field. The former first-rounder (19th overall) in 2020 has been hot in the early going in spring training, going 7-for-14 with a homer, three doubles, four RBI and a stolen base in five games played. The 22-year-old is expected to be Chicago's starting center fielder in 2025 after slashing .237/.286/.384 with 10 homers, 47 RBI and 27 steals in 123 games last year in his first full year in the bigs. Speed and defense are the main draw for Crow-Armstrong, but his strong finish to the season gives hope to fantasy managers that he could take the next step as a No.3/4 fantasy outfielder.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (hamstring) was scratched from Monday's lineup with right hamstring tightness. Maddie Lee of The Sun Times noted that this is a precautionary move. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status during the week in case this injury begins to linger. The former top prospect received his first full look at the majors last season and is expected to be the team's everyday center fielder in 2025. After a slow start in the first half where the 22-year-old posted a .203/.253/.329 line, Crow-Armstrong flipped the script in the second half as he held a much-higher .262/.310/.425 line. Across 123 contests, he swiped an impressive 27 bags and placed in the 99th percentile in sprint speed. Even if his bat needs more time to adjust to the major leagues, his elite speed makes him a viable No. 3/No. 4 OF in category formats.

According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the Chicago Cubs are not expected to utilize young outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong as their leadoff hitter early in the season. Manager Craig Counsell said he is "open-minded" about the decision but will probably not have him open the season in that role. The head skipper also noted that Crow-Armstrong's hesitance to steal bases late in the season is a part of this decision. While Crow-Armstrong began to find his footing in the second half of 2024 as he held a .262/.310/.425 line with ten stolen bases and eight doubles, he swiped only one of those bags in September. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his progress during spring training, as his outlook would be altered if he moved to the bottom half of the lineup. As a result, this would likely make Ian Happ or Nico Hoerner (elbow) the top candidates for the leadoff spot. Given Happ's elite on-base skills, he would have a path to tallying a career-high in runs batting in front of Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki.