MESA, Ariz. — New Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman knows his swing is at its best when he is stingy with his pitch selection and makes contact out in front. Those keys unlocked what he called the best 1½-month offensive stretch of his life last season before a strained quad in late May broke his rhythm.
The same things are focuses for Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, especially disciplined swing decisions. That has dominated most of their hitting conversations so far.
‘‘I think the sky’s the limit for him,’’ Bregman said of Crow-Armstrong. ‘‘I feel like he can do anything on a baseball field: running the bases, defensively, offensively. And I feel like the more he refines his game, he’s just going to continue to get better and better.’’
Bregman joined the Cubs with an already-glowing reputation for his leadership skills. The examples keep stacking up.
Bregman was in the coaches’ room earlier this week, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said, asking about what his teammates were working on and how he could reinforce those cues. During the offseason, young infielder Matt Shaw joined Bregman at his facility in Arizona to hit.
‘‘It’s rare to have a player that’s invested in helping make young guys better,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘And you’ll see it in various ways, but it’s a wonderful quality that he has. It’s something people with the Astros talk about and people with the Red Sox talk about, and it’s something he’s earned.’’
Bregman is expected to make an impact on the Cubs all season. But because of the World Baseball Classic schedule this spring, there’s one young position player he’ll be around more than any other.
‘‘I’m really excited to spend some serious time with him,’’ Crow-Armstrong said of Bregman, who will join him on Team USA. ‘‘The guy is super-enthusiastic about the intricacies of the game. And I’ve loved hearing him share his experiences in the past. And I think he’s going to make me and the whole squad just a whole lot better.’’
Bregman and Crow-Armstrong were early arrivals in camp. And though Bregman left the complex Thursday with an illness, he was back Friday.
The two have about two more weeks left with the Cubs before joining Team USA for WBC play. It will be Crow-Armstrong’s first WBC and Bregman’s second.
In 2017, Bregman was the youngest player on Team USA’s squad, turning 23 about a week after the team beat Puerto Rico in the final. The next time around, in 2023, Bregman couldn’t participate after breaking a finger in the World Series several months before.
‘‘I didn’t get to play that much [in 2017], but I got to experience it,’’ Bregman said. ‘‘And I’ve been looking forward to this since then.’’
Bregman can pass lessons from that early experience to the 23-year-old Crow-Armstrong, but the two will have more time for general baseball conversations, too. Pitch selection is sure to continue to be a topic between them.
Bregman’s elite chase rate put him in the 95th percentile in that category last season. Crow-Armstrong, meanwhile, is well aware that he’s a free swinger and that improving his command of the strike zone is an avenue to take his offensive game to a new level.
‘‘It’s not the first time Pete’s talked about pitch selection,’’ Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Crow-Armstrong’s conversations with Bregman. ‘‘But, kind of like pitch grips, how it clicks for you and how you see it and how it resonates and how you process it, it’s different for everybody.’’
The more conversations Crow-Armstrong has with coaches or teammates who excel in that area, the more chances he will create to have that ‘‘aha’’ moment.
‘‘The way Alex approaches it, he’s been successful, and it’s been successful for other players, as well,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘So of course we’re all going to listen to that.’’
