As Pete Crow-Armstrong tries to find his way as a big leaguer, he has no shortage of role models to look towards on the Chicago Cubs. Cody Bellinger has been one of them.
Crow-Armstrong, the No. 16 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, is trying to find his footing at the highest level. He struggled at the plate in limited action last season, and this spring is attempting to prove he belongs as an everyday Major Leaguer.
Acclimating to the majors is a tall task in its own right, and certainly as a highly-touted prospect with lofty expectations. Bellinger, who was a fourth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2013 before becoming one of the top prospects in the game – knows what that’s like.
Crow-Armstrong told Audacy’s Rob Bradford on Baseball Isn’t Boring what it’s been like for him to have Bellinger around.
“There are people in the clubhouse that want to make you better, and they know how to do that,” he said. “With Cody though, I’ve said it before, but last year as little as just him standing out in center field with me while I was shagging and just chatting and catching up, stuff like that. I think everybody sees the ability that I have on the baseball field and they just want to help make that better. It means a lot, it feels nice to feel the respect and care from these guys, because they got their own s--t to worry about …
“He’s definitely provided his little tokens of wisdom here and there about what he’s been through and how I can apply that to my own career, and I think that’s the best way to go about it. Just being relatable, and he’s made himself very relatable.“
Bellinger in a sense stands in the way of Crow-Armstrong breaking camp with the big league team. Since Bellinger can play first base and center field, where the Cubs determine he’s best suited this season could determine how much action Crow-Armstrong and infielder Michael Busch see off the bat.
While providing more consistent offense is key to Crow-Armstrong staying in the majors, he's presently going through the requisite learning curve of learning how to "be a big leaguer." That'ms an area where the veteran presence of Bellinger and others has been key for him.
"I’ve said that a lot about Cody, he’s the same dude (no matter what)," Crow-Armstrong said. "Nico (Hoerner), (Ian Happ), same guy all the time. Dansby (Swanson), what you see on camera is exactly who you get in the clubhouse. I’m trying to achieve that too because I think that contributes to being a really good baseball player and teammate as well.
"There’s a lot that happens in a year, but I'm confident in the fact that as a baseball player I will continue to have that kind of trajectory. But more importantly, I’m figuring out right now how to be a big leaguer. … I’m getting there, for sure. I just love being here, and it makes you want to do that."
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