The first time Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was on the same field as Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes, their roles were reversed.
The two were playing together on the United States 12U national team, in Mazatlan, Mexico, in 2014, well before Skenes would become baseball’s biggest pitching phenom. Crow-Armstrong pitched in the tournament, but Skenes never took the mound.
“He was a scrawny catcher,” Crow-Armstrong recalled with a smirk. “I took home the lowest ERA in the tournament, but he’s the No.1 pick.
“I guess things changed.”
Over the first 10 innings of Skenes’ major league career, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs got a firsthand view at just how much.
The No. 1 overall pick from last summer’s loaded MLB draft has wowed the…
