Pete Crow-Armstrong wowing Cubs brass, who see walk as good as extra-base hit for speedy center fielder

You might have heard that a walk can be as good as a hit.

But a walk being as good as a double?

Just another incredible baseball feat, courtesy of Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

‘‘The ability to [make an] impact on the bases, you can’t pitch around him because it’s an extra-base hit,’’ Cubs president Jed Hoyer said last week. ‘‘And if you pitch to him, it might be an extra-base hit. That’s the real beauty: He can get into scoring position so easily, and you can’t walk guys like that.’’

For Crow-Armstrong, who’s wowing with improved plate discipline, a walk can be as good as a double because he can use his speed to swipe second base.

Crow-Armstrong — who started the day fifth in the majors with 25 stolen bases — flashed his speed in the Cubs’ 11-2 victory Tuesday against the Tigers by hitting a triple in his first at-bat. That’s the kind of thing he did with regularity during his breakout 2025 season, when he established himself as a human highlight reel.

But in the same inning — the Cubs sent a dozen men to the plate in a six-run first — he showed what has made him so newly dangerous this season by drawing a bases-loaded walk that forced in a run. He accounted for three of the team’s 11 walks on the night.

That’s the evolved Crow-Armstrong that shows the Cubs were on to something when they bet big with a $115 million contract extension.

‘‘The way he’s played for the last six weeks or so is what you hoped he would get to eventually,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘He got there really quickly. Obviously, he’s going to have to maintain it and stay there. But some of the great at-bats he’s had?

‘‘He was facing [left-handed reliever Sam] Moll with Cincinnati, and I found myself thinking, ‘Oh, he’s going to walk him.’ And I was like, ‘Wow, that is a 180.’ I never would have thought that last year, that he was going to face that kind of guy . . . and he’s not going to chase a breaking ball away, [that] he’s going to have a disciplined approach. He’s kind of impossible [to pitch to] when you get to that place.

‘‘This current approach is exactly what we always hoped he could get to. It just came a lot faster than we thought.’’

He’s doing incredible things with his glove, too, turning in another highlight-reel grab Tuesday.

‘‘They’re plays that nobody else is going to make,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘You’re going to have to watch baseball a long time to find somebody who’s going to make those plays. That’s how good it is.’’

Shaw still waiting to swing

The Cubs still are waiting for utility player Matt Shaw to be entirely free of symptoms caused by the sprained hand that sent him to the injured list late last month. Despite new imaging that showed ‘‘significant healing,’’ he still is waiting to start swinging a bat.

‘‘We’ve just got to get over that last step,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘It’s been a stubborn sprain. When you swing a baseball bat for a living, it involves the wrist heavily, and we’re just not quite past it.’’

Shaw will head to Arizona to continue working when the Cubs next hit the road.

Party like it’s 1999

With his two-run home run Tuesday, Michael Conforto became the second Cubs player since at least 1901 to hit four pinch-hit homers in a season. Glenallen Hill did it in 1999.

It was the latest contribution from Conforto, who has carved out a nice role as a part-timer. His .824 OPS is his best since 2020.

‘‘It’s a real weapon to have somebody like that,’’ Counsell said.

Climbing the list

Left fielder Ian Happ’s homer Monday was the 191st of his career and put him in sole possession of 11th place on the Cubs’ all-time list, passing Hall of Fame outfielder Hack Wilson.

He’s seven away from tying outfielder Hank Sauer, who’s 10th with 198 homers with the Cubs.