Pete Crow-Armstrong Is In A Mental Slump And Needs A Day Or Two Off

BusinessSportsMoneyPete Crow-Armstrong Is In A Mental Slump And Needs A Day Or Two OffByDan Freedman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dan Freedman is lawyer and IBWAA member who writes about baseball.Follow AuthorMay 22, 2026, 01:49pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Pete Crow-Armstrong missed a fly ball double hit by Miguel Vargas last Sunday, which set off a chain of events that has made this a bad week for the young star. (Photo by Michael Hirschuber/Getty Images)Getty ImagesPete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs needs a day; he needs a break, a breather. He needs to collect himself. “PCA,” as he is known around the Chicagoland Area and throughout baseball, was an early MVP candidate last season, when he got off to a torrid start. Unfortunately, his second half was considerably cooler, having him finish the season with a respectable .247/.287/.481 slash line, with 31 homers and 72 extra base hits (however, 25 of those dingers and 50 of those extra base hits came before the All-Star break). That said, he was still the first Cub to go 30/30 (home runs and stolen bases) since Sammy Sosa last did it in 1995 (and no one is questioning the validity of PCA’s numbers).Prior this season, Crow-Armstrong signed a six-year, $115 million contract to keep him on the North Side past his first years of free agency. Maybe he is trying too hard to live up to the lofty expectations and dollars, as he is off to a mediocre start to the 2026 campaign. As of today, he is slashing .225/.302/.257. There was great hope that newly-signed third baseman Alex Bregman would help the young outfielder get a better handle on the strike zone and have him swing at less bad pitches. Well, the bad news is that his chase rate is right about where it was last year (40.7% vs. 41.7%), which is nearly 43% worse than the league average. The good news is that he...