WCH

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF

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Scouting report

Crow-Armstrong was one of the earliest 2020 high schoolers identified as a likely first round talent because of how well he performed against older showcase competition and SoCal varsity pitching. He had a rough pre-draft showcase summer, and while he rebounded later in 2019 with Team USA, he didn't have an extended opportunity to do so in 2020 because of the pandemic. Crow-Armstrong did, however, come out having added substantial muscle and some teams think he'll hit for more power than the industry would have projected based solely on 2019 looks. The headline skill here, though, is PCA's defense in center field, which was the best in the draft class regardless of demographic. It's fun just watching him shag balls during BP. Like Blake Rutherford before him, Crow-Armstrong has a pretty swing geared for low-ball contact. He's especially adept at lifting breaking balls in the air but may struggle against velocity at the letters. His potential Gold Glove-caliber center field defense makes him a likely big leaguer, but issues with top-of-zone velocity may prevent him from being a complete offensive player. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)