Pete Crow-Armstrong emerges from Harvard West-Lake high school – a school that graduated Jack Flaherty, Max Fried, and Lucas Giolito. Crow-Armstrong plays outfield, and he is six-feet, one inch tall, and he weighs 180 pounds.
His parents, Peter and Ashley, are Hollywood actors. Peter met Ashley during his time making the movie Heroes. Ashley played the mother of fictional 12-year-old Minnesota Twins manager Billy Heywood in the movie Little Big League.
He has a commitment to play at Vanderbilt University, the team that won the College World Series last year. A person associated with such notoriety can easily be overshadowed. However, Pete Crow-Armstrong is making a name of his own. He was selected to play in the Perfect Game All-America game, and is currently the 20th-best prospect, according to MLB.com.
Strengths
Perfect Game USA calls Pete Crow-Armstrong the ‘most polished all around player in the 2020 class’. Certainly, such high praise for a prep player should be validated. Crow-Armstrong is an elite defensive centerfielder. He makes strong, accurate throws and his plus speed helps him patrol the outfield. In the video below, Crow-Armstrong makes a leaping grab at the wall and fires a strong throw back to the infield.
?????????? Pete Crow-Armstrong catch on the wall #U18WorldCup @usabaseball18u pic.twitter.com/qz9iRGQMf3
— WBSC ⚾? (@WBSC) August 31, 2019
Crow-Armstrong runs a 6.51 in the 60 yard dash. (An average time is between 6.7 and 6.9 seconds.) This will serve him well on the basepaths, where he has the potential to be a 20+ stolen base threat.
Crow-Armstrong’s best tool is his hitting ability. There is pop in his bat, as evidenced by his remarkable 99 MPH exit velocity. However, a player needs a good approach, and Crow Armstrong has excellent fundamentals, which helps him generate solid contact. This is a good sign his pop will carry over to the next level. He routinely hits the ball the other way and up the middle in addition to showing the ability to pull the ball some, as well.
Weaknesses
Currently, Crow-Armstrong benefit from an improvement in his power, according to some scouts. He has room to fill out on his frame, but he has already bulked up from the 175 pounds Perfect Game lists him at. He informed Baseball Prospect Journal he has added 15 pounds since last summer and expressed interest in continuing to do so while staying committed to his approach.
“I definitely want to keep getting stronger. I’ve seen major leaguers and how strong they are and how much pride they take in working out,” he said. “I also really want to stay committed to an approach. If I can really master an approach and stay mentally tough, then I am going to have a lot of success at the plate”
As Crow-Armstrong looks to address the weaker area of power in his game, he will have to make sure he can optimize an uptick in strength and power with his approach at the plate.
Although Crow-Armstrong has a history of making good contact, he endured a stretch of swinging and missing in the summer of 2019. This was a cause for concern for some scouts, and it is something worth monitoring as he progresses in the professional ranks.
MLB Comparison
Fifteen years ago, another speedy centerfielder and left-handed contact hitter was waiting to be drafted. Like Crow-Armstrong, he measured 6’1″ and 175 pounds by Perfect Game USA and was just 18 years old.
He added bulk to his frame and power to his game. Currently, he stands in at 6’2″ 200 pounds. His name is Michael Brantley. If Crow-Armstong even comes close to the player Brantley is, he will have one stellar career. An association with big names hasn’t deterred Crow-Armstrong from separating himself so far. Perhaps he is just getting started.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
