Aptronyms fascinate me. It’s when one’s name fits perfectly to their occupation. Like if my name were Grey Albrightaboutfantasy. Nominative determinism says there’s a causal relationship between a person being attracted to areas of work that fit their name. For unstints, Usain Bolt runs fast, Thomas Crapper worked with toilets, and Prince and Cecil Fielder were fielders. Think about this before naming your kid, Dumbass. Or Dumbass Jr., if your name is already Dumbass. Though, just naming your kid, Presidentoftheworld, isn’t going to be all they need. With all that said, Pete Crow-Armstrong does a crow hop and combines both solid arm strength and accuracy. Overall, his fielding is excellent. Let’s see an example:
Pete Crow-Armstrong with an outstanding catch. ? pic.twitter.com/YgkZpWggg1
— MLB (@MLB) March 7, 2023
One more because hitting videos are going to be tougher to find:
Pete Crow-Armstrong and his amazing defense have arrived in the bigs! pic.twitter.com/SKwp0K9a8c
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2023
Have I been hit on the head and suddenly care about defense? Yes, I have been hit on the head, but that has nothing to do with me talking about Pete Crow-Armstrong’s fielding. Am I talking to the three of you that are in leagues that have errors as a category? No, I’m not. I’m talking into existence Craig Counsell realizing Mike Tauchman sucks. Mike Suckman, so to speak. Okay, maybe not suck, but he can’t play center field for much longer as the 21-year-old Pete Crow-Armstrong twiddles his thumbs in the minors. He’s not Pete Crow-Thumbstrong. So, what can we expect from Pete Crow-Armstrong for 2024 fantasy baseball?
First off, the good news beyond his defense: The Mets traded him away. So, you know he’s going to be great! I kid. That didn’t work for Kelenic. Pete Crow-Armstrong was drafted in the 1st round by the Mets in 2020, then traded for Javier Baez and Trevor Williams. There’s no amount of woofing that is loud enough. He is now the Cubs’ number one hitting prospect. Here’s what I said in September, “Cubs are calling up Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is little known Pixar character from the movie, The Wowzers. It was a blatant ripoff of The Incredibles, where the main character, Pete Crow-Armstrong idolized Jim Thorpe, went to sleep one night and woke being able to “crow hop” a throw to home from the deepest part of the outfield. A critics’ darling that audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes called, “Pixar continues to make all female characters’ main attribute their giant rear ends.” So, here’s what Itch said previously, “The surprise prize of the Javy Baez trade, Pete Crow-Armstrong features a quick but simple stroke in a 6’0” 184 lb frame. PCA is a double-plus defender who just posted 16 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 101 games across two levels (in 2022) where he was younger than the league average. He chipped in 20 doubles and 10 triples, slashing .312/.376/.520 on the season. The power has been a nice bonus, considering the profile isn’t dependent upon it. Here’s hoping: His power and my fist into Grey’s head.” Oh cmon! PCA’s gone 20/37 across two levels in 107 games this year. He seems to have a little bit of a contact problem (29.7% in Triple-A), but has speed for an inflated BABIP.” And that’s me quoting me and Itch!
We’re through the looking glass for holding down prospects. That he was already called up, and, due to his defense, I believe Pete Crow-Armstrong could be set to start the year with the Cubs and be short-listed for NL ROY. From what I’ve seen so far, he’s an afterthought in redraft leagues, but I bet that changes when the Cubs’ intentions for him in 2024 become more obvious in March. If you’re drafting early, I’d grab Crow-Armstrong before his ADP zooms up draft boards, as he looks like a solid contender for a 15/30 season. His average could be less than ideal, as I said above, but he was 21 (will be until end of March), and contact can come later, as we’ve seen with lots of players. For 2024, I’ll give Pete Crow-Armstrong projections of 54/10/48/.234/24 in 441 ABs with a chance for more.
