CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong has been on a heater.

The Chicago Cubs center fielder entered Friday ranked third in wins above replacement, per FanGraphs (1.9), and has been raking at the plate. He’s slashing .429/.442/.976 (1.418 OPS) with a 298 weighted runs-created plus (wRC+), 198 percentage points above league average, since April 12.

He’s been a catalyst near the bottom of the order, so it’s natural to wonder: Why not move him up in the lineup? Well, it’s a bit tough to do when the other hitters also are humming. The Cubs entered Friday leading the majors in runs (163), runs per game (6.27) and OPS (.806).

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“I think our lineup is executing at a really high level right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.

There’s also some strategy in hitting Crow-Armstrong lower in the lineup. He’s been in the No. 7 spot 24 times and once each in the No. 6 and No. 8 spots. Hitting there sandwiches Crow-Armstrong, a left-handed batter, around a pocket of right-handed hitters — Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner ahead of him, and the catcher or third baseman behind him.

That means it’s harder for teams to bring in lefty relievers later in games with that many righties around him. And Crow-Armstrong rakes against righties to the tune of .312/.361/.584 (.946 OPS) and 170 wRC+.

“We’ve got Pete kind of insulated, and so he’s going to get a lot of right-handers,” Counsell said. “And he’s been … performing against right-handed pitching.”

Crow-Armstrong’s placement in the Cubs’ batting order is much like Seiya Suzuki’s. Suzuki routinely has hit in the No. 3 spot, between lefties Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch, allowing him to see more lefty relievers. Suzuki has just 18 plate appearances against southpaws this season, but he’s slashing .500/.611/1.143 (1.754 OPS) and a 357 wRC+.

That’s part of the strategy that Counsell uses in writing out his daily lineup.

“I think we’re in a good spot with it right now,” Counsell said. “It’s more important who plays than the order. And I think they’re producing, and so no intention [to move Crow-Armstrong up] right now.”