MESA, Ariz. — Spring training numbers, good or bad, always should be viewed cautiously within the small sample size.
But it would be hard to blame the Chicago Cubs for being excited by what center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has shown at the plate this spring. Crow-Armstrong slugged two home runs Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, including a no-doubt grand slam to center field, part of his seven extra-base hits that are tied for the team lead.
“The goal is doubles, I want to put the ball in the gap and I want to run,” Crow-Armstrong said afterward. “I’d just like to see myself on base, I think that’s where I can create a lot and putting the ball out of the park is the bonus for me, specifically.
“We’ve got a fair amount of guys in our lineup that will do that on a regular basis, and if I’m running into ’em, I’m running into ’em. But the goal is really just putting myself on base and making things happen there.”
Crow-Armstrong wants to have a well-rounded offensive profile and pointed to Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez as a good example of what that can look like.
“I will never be the guy that hits 40 (home runs) so I think making the most of whatever I do in terms of putting the ball in play is really the way to think about it for myself,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I definitely want to take pride in eventually becoming that well-rounded player, and I think that I’m setting myself up well to do that.
“But that’s the goal at the end of the day is to go play Gold Glove defense, first and foremost, and then be able to produce wherever I’m at in the lineup.”
Justin Steele on the upswing
The left-hander remains on track to pitch in the Tokyo Series after a skipped start due to flu-like symptoms.
Steele is tentatively slated to start Tuesday in the Cubs’ final Cactus League game before the team departs for Japan postgame. He played catch Saturday and will throw a bullpen Sunday before getting in game action.
The Cubs could pivot and instead have him throw a simulated game, but for now he’s lined up to go Tuesday to ensure he makes one more start before taking the mound at the Tokyo Dome. A rainout Friday also caused some reshuffling of pitching appearances for right-hander Colin Rea, who threw a sim game Saturday, and a handful of relievers.
The Cubs feel they are in a good place with where the pitching staff is at with the early start to the regular season, both in readiness and depth.
“This is time of year for pitchers, that there’s risk at this time of year with pitchers,” manager Craig Counsell said Saturday. “I think historically the injuries have told you that. So that just instructs you with how much we’re going to push guys in terms of appearances and length.
“I’m really proud of our pitching group, they and our pitchers, and how they’ve prepared to get to this point. I think our staff has done a wonderful job, really, before we even got here, at getting us to this point.”
Matt Shaw remains in evaluation mode
By end of Monday at the latest, Shaw will know whether he is part of the Cubs roster heading to Japan.
The Cubs want players to have some time to prepare for the trip, which means the roster-bubble spots will need to be determined sooner than Tuesday’s departure day. The team continues to evaluate Shaw’s readiness after the top prospect’s start to camp was slowed by a left oblique injury.
“He’s also always kind of figured out a way to be a really good player in the league he was playing so I think he’s kind of got that trait in him,” Counsell said. “Now, the major leagues is the hardest league he’s going to play in by far, that league has humbled many of men. So at some point that’s gonna be the next challenge.”
Less than three weeks away from the Cubs’ March 27 domestic opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, second baseman Nico Hoerner “still has steps to conquer” to be ready to play, but “he’s on track,” Counsell said. Hoerner is not joining the Cubs on the Japan trip so he can stay back to continue to build up and get at-bats in minor-league games as he comes back from offseason surgery on his right flexor tendon.
“He’s close to getting out of kind of the rehab mode and getting into just player mode, and that’s an important step,” Counsell said. “Rehab is designed to make you feel good, and the playing mode is we expect things to happen to you.”
