Pete Crow-Armstrong hit three home runs in three days. This includes a historic game where he hit for the cycle. But he is not letting the Chicago Cubs’ recent winning streak go to his head. The Cubs just won two series in a row. Their record is now 39-36. But they are still trying to recover from a terrible slump. Just last week, the Cubs blew their great early-season start. They fell all the way down to a .500 record before recovering.

“I’m not gonna buy into that yet, I want to keep stacking (wins). I think what I’m happiest about is coming out after a loss and getting a W the next day. I think that’s what was really consistent about this team last year and really strong and important,” Marquee Sports Network quoted Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The Cubs finished April with a 17-9 record, but that record crashed to 13-16 in May. In June, the stats are again upwards with a current 7-8 record so far. And the biggest credit goes to Pete Crow-Armstrong. Early in the year, he swung at too many bad pitches. Now, he has fixed his approach.

According to Baseball Savant, his chase rate went from 41.7% to 38.3%. Moreover, this season, his hard-hit rate has gone upto 51.9%, and his average exit velocity rose to 91.8 mph. For Crow-Armstrong, the credit for his resurrection also goes to Craig Counsell.

“We’re all lucky enough to be able to show up every day. Couns made an interesting point to me the other day when he said, It kind of feels like it’s a bunch of have-tos. We have to get the job done. We have to pick it up, turn it around, and win these games. You can’t forget that we get to do this,” Pete Crow-Armstrong shared.

The young star knows how to bounce back from adversities. He struggled when he first played in the majors in 2023. Then he figured it out and became an All-Star last year in 2025. However, what makes Crow-Armstrong different from other Cubs players is how he stays realistic.

“Just the law of averages, guys, it has to turn. I’m telling ya. We can’t go an entire season with the lack of success that we’ve had in scoring position. There’s such a thing called regression to the mean, and that’s coming,” Ian Happ said a few days ago. In contrast, Crow-Armstrong is focusing on maintaining the momentum.

The Cubs are still ranked 19th in terms of ERA (4.26). The rotation has been heavily depleted. Missing key arms, such as the loss of top prospect Cade Horton for the season and setbacks for Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon, have forced the Cubs to rely on depth pieces. Due to missing so many arms, the Cubs are eight games behind the Brewers. So, the struggle is yet to get over. For Crow-Arstrong, it’s still a long way before getting confident.

An aggressive trade deadline could help bring the required confidence.

The Cubs need to equip themselves by the deadline

A reliable starting pitcher is what the Cubs need on an immediate basis. Tarik Skubal will likely be the most obvious option. But for Skubal, the Cubs need to give up names they would not love to.

“Tarik Skubal may be too rich for their blood, but Sandy Alcantara, Robbie Ray, and Freddy Peralta will be on their bucket list,” MLB insider Bob Nightengale said.

Trading for Alcantara would benefit the clubhouse; however, it would require a huge price. It is expected that the Marlins would want Chicago’s best young players to agree to the trade. On the other hand, Robbie Ray brings veteran experience and a left-handed arm. Because Ray is in the final year of his contract and the Cubs would need to absorb the remainder of his roughly $25 million salary, the prospect cost is lowered.

The Cubs could probably get him by trading a good-hitting prospect like Jonathon Long. Long could help the Giants’ struggling hitters. The Cubs have many choices for trades. What they do next will decide if this winning streak is the start of a real playoff run.