Pete Henry Crow-Armstrong (born March 25, 2002), also known by his initials "PCA", is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Crow-Armstrong was drafted by the New York Mets with the 19th overall pick of the 2020 MLB draft. During the 2021 trade deadline, he was traded to the Cubs for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. In 2025 and 2026, Crow-Armstrong was named to his first and second All-Star games.
Contents
Amateur career
Crow-Armstrong attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, where he played baseball. In 2019, his junior year, he was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year after hitting .395 with three home runs, 23 runs batted in (RBIs), and 47 hits over 34 games, striking out only seven times. That summer, he played in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game. In 2020, his senior year, he was batting .514 before the baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University before the 2020 MLB draft.
Professional career
New York Mets
Crow-Armstrong was considered one of the top prospects for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. The New York Mets selected him in the first round with the 19th overall selection. He signed with the Mets on June 25 for a bonus of $3.4 million. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic.
Crow-Armstrong began the 2021 season with the St. Lucie Mets of the Low-A Southeast League. On May 18, it was announced that Crow-Armstrong would undergo surgery on his right shoulder for a glenoid labral articular disruption, ending his season. He hit .417 with four RBIs and two stolen bases in 24 at bats prior to the injury.
Chicago Cubs
On July 30, 2021, the Mets traded Crow-Armstrong to the Chicago Cubs for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams. On September 16, 2024, Crow-Armstrong revealed his feelings about the trade, saying, "I didn’t feel like I was a part of any trade talks that I had seen on TV or anything like that." He continued, "I had a sling on my shoulder... I thought it was a joke."
Crow-Armstrong began the 2022 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Low-A Carolina League and was promoted to the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League in late May. He was selected to represent the Cubs at the All-Star Futures Game. He was named a MiLB Gold Glove as one of the three best defensive outfielders in the minor leagues. Crow-Armstrong and South Bend won the Midwest League championship.
On February 6, 2023, Crow-Armstrong was one of the 32 non-roster players invited to the Cubs' spring training camp. He opened the 2023 season with Tennessee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League, beginning the season as the Cubs' number one prospect and the sixth-ranked outfielder prospect in MLB. He was selected to represent the Cubs at the All-Star Futures Game.
In 73 games in Double-A, Crow-Armstrong batted .289/.371/.527 with 14 home runs, 60 RBI, and 27 steals. On July 31, Crow-Armstrong was promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. In 34 games for Iowa, he averaged .271/.350/.479 with six home runs, two triples, seven doubles, 30 runs, 38 hits, and 22 RBIs.
On September 11, 2023, after recording a combined .876 OPS in the minors, the Cubs called up Crow-Armstrong to the major leagues for the first time. That day, he made his MLB debut against the Colorado Rockies, entering the game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner but was caught stealing third base. In the ninth inning, he made his first career plate appearance, hitting a sacrifice bunt. Crow-Armstrong made his first MLB start on September 12 in center field. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI fielder's choice and made two highlight-reel plays in the outfield. In 13 games in September, Crow-Armstrong batted 0-for-14 with 3 walks and two stolen bases, coming in as a pinch runner seven times.
Crow-Armstrong was optioned to Triple-A Iowa Cubs to begin the 2024 season after batting .138/.194/.435 with four hits and three stolen bases in spring training. He was recalled to the majors on April 24, after an injury to Cody Bellinger. In the sixth inning of the following game, Crow-Armstrong collected his first career hit, a go-ahead two-run home run off of Bryan Abreu of the Houston Astros. Crow-Armstrong hit an inside-the-park home run on August 23 off Max Meyer of the Miami Marlins. It was noted as being the fastest time to home plate from a base hit since 2017 at 14.08 seconds, with a peak sprint speed of 30.4 ft/s (20.7 mph).
International career
Crow-Armstrong has played for USA Baseball in several international youth tournaments. In 2014, he joined the Under-12 National Team, which went 7–2 during the COPABE U-12 Pan-American Championship earning a silver medal after losing to Nicaragua. In 2016, he was a member of the Under-14 National Team Development Program, and in 2017, he joined the Under-15 National Team. The team shared the gold medal with the Dominican Republic at the COPABE U-15 Pan-American Championships after the gold medal game was canceled. In 2018, Crow-Armstrong joined the Under-18 National Team. He started every game for the U.S. and helped them earn gold at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships. In 2019, he started in the Under-17 National Team Development Program and was called up to the 18U National Team for the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup. Crow-Armstrong finished the tournament with a .364 batting average, 12 hits, nine runs scored, four doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases. Crow-Armstrong was named to the U-18 All-World Team as the U.S. won silver.
Awards and honors
MLB
2× All-Star (2025, 2026)
Gold Glove Award (2025)
2× 30–30 club (2025, 2026)
2× National League Player of the Month (June 2026; August 2026)
2× National League Player of the Week (June 7, 2026; June 21, 2026)
Hit for the reverse natural cycle on June 15, 2026
MiLB
Midwest League champion (2022)
MiLB Awards All-MiLB Prospect Second Team (2023)
2× All-Star Futures Game selection (2022, 2023)
Baseball America Double-A All-Star (2022)
Southern League Postseason All-Star (2023)
Midwest League Postseason All-Star (2022)
2× MiLB.com Organization All-Star (2022, 2023)
MiLB Awards Defensive Player of the Year (2023)
Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award (2022)
Midwest League Player of the Month (August 2022)
International League Player of the Week (May 26, 2024)
Carolina League Player of the Week (May 1, 2022)
Personal life
Crow-Armstrong played Little League Baseball in the Sherman Oaks Little League. His parents, Matthew John Armstrong and Ashley Crow, are both actors.
Crow-Armstrong bleaches his hair blond. Before the 2025 season, he had blue stars in his hair. Before the 2025 season, Crow-Armstrong changed his uniform number from 52 to 4 after losing a bet to Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, after Hoyer made a 12-foot basketball shot.