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DENVER — One of the reasons the Cubs summoned top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong from the farm system was to add his elite defense to the equation as the team pushed for the playoffs. It did not take long for the kid to show off why some evaluators believe he is already one of the top center fielders in the game.
Twice on Tuesday night, Colorado’s Nolan Jones was robbed of potential extra-base hits by spectacular grabs from Crow-Armstrong.
In the first inning, Jones crushed a pitch from Cubs righty Javier Assad to deep center field. In the first start of his MLB career, the 21-year-old Crow-Armstrong was off to the races, sprinting to his right to chase down the ball before it could find the warning track.
Crow-Armstrong left his feet briefly and plucked the ball from the air, slamming into the padded wall with his hat popping off, revealing his thick mop of red hair, bringing life to the expression “playing with his hair on fire.” The ball Jones hit had an expected batting average of .970, according to Statcast.
As Crow-Armstrong quickly fired the ball back to the infield, the heavily Cubs-leaning crowd at Coors Field joined together in a “P-C-A!” chant. For Chicago’s fans in Denver, it was the first in-person look at what should be the first in a long line of highlight-reel plays for the center fielder in the big leagues.
Fans did not have to wait much longer for the next one.
This time, Jones ripped a low slider from Cubs righty Daniel Palencia deep over the right-center field gap in the sixth inning. According to Statcast, this ball had a catch probability of just 15 percent.
Crow-Armstrong bolted to his left, hitting an elite sprint speed of 30.7 feet/sec. as he flew across the spacious Coors Field outfield. He dropped into a slide, extending his glove hand and making a back-handed grab at the final moment.
As Crow-Armstrong hopped to his feet, flipping the ball nonchalantly from his glove to his bare hand, Palencia raised his cap skyward in appreciation.
