Pete Crow-Armstrong had a June that compares with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

Pete Crow-Armstrong is just 101 days beyond his 24th birthday, a reminder of the extraordinary impact the Cubs center fielder already has made on this 150-year-old franchise in a brief time.

Now that he has been named the National League’s Player of the Month, with a performance in June that evoked comparisons to all-time greats (hello, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig), has Crow-Armstrong raised the bar on what he is capable of in the future?

“It’s a good question,’’ Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “I think we saw him last year go on kind of a home-run, stolen-base barrage, a little bit earlier than this time of year last year, but that part of it doesn’t make me think differently.

“I think what makes me think differently is the walks and the approach at the plate. I told him the other day, his at-bat against [San Diego’s Adrian] Morejon was the best at-bat I’d ever seen him take. He battled one of the best lefties in the game and laid off a ‘chase’ slider to walk, and I think we’d all watched him not do that a lot of times in that same situation.’’

Morejon had entered with two out in the sixth inning of a 2-all tie to face Crow-Armstrong, who fell behind in the count, 1-and-2, took a ball, then was called out on strikes on a slider that he didn’t bite on. The strike call was overturned by ABS, and after fouling off a pitch, PCA drew a walk.

Last season, Crow-Armstrong walked a total of 29 times in 647 plate appearances. This season, he has already drawn 39 walks, including 15 in his last 13 games in June, when he hit .381 with 11 home runs and posted a 1.249 OPS, the highest of any qualified player in June. He raised his season batting average 42 percentage points (.245 to .287) and his OPS 178 points (.720 to .898).

“He showed over the last month or so real maturity in his approach, his walk rate is way up and if that can continue I think that does raise what [he] can be as a player,’’ Hoyer said. “Because now all of a sudden you’re looking at a high slug guy but also with real on-base skills, and especially in the leadoff spot.

“I think about what an uncomfortable at-bat that is for the opposing team, right? . . . The idea that that guy can homer off you, but if you pitch around him at all, he’s going to steal second. Having him in that leadoff role, if he can maintain that kind of plate discipline, I really think it provides you a dangerous player to lead off the game, and the guy’s on our side.’’

OPTAStats may have been doing a little cherry-picking stats-wise, but their research, as the Sun-Times’ Vinnie Duber noted on Thursday, had PCA joining Ruth and Gehrig as the only players to have a month in which they batted .375 or higher, had a slugging percentage .775 or better, 80 or more total bases, 15 walks or more, 10 home runs or more and five stolen bases or more

“I haven’t seen the names, I haven’t really looked at the numbers,’’ Crow-Armstrong said Friday morning. “That’s funny, like, I don’t really have much of a reaction, because I didn’t grow up watching those guys.’’

Um, no he didn’t. Ruth retired in 1934, Gehrig in 1939. Their plaques can be found in Cooperstown.

“That’s pretty weird, I think,’’ Crow-Armstrong said after the chuckles subsided. “Just because those guys are kind of like folklore to me. I didn’t really look at the numbers much, but I did see those names floating around mine.’’

Crow-Armstrong said he could relate more to Junior Caminero, the Rays’ 22-year-old third baseman who was the American League’s Player of the Month.

“I’m mostly just happy to be in the same conversation as Junior,’’ Crow-Armstrong said, “because that’s another guy that’s pushing our game forward, and I love how he plays. So yeah, cool for sure.’’

Does PCA believe he has raised his own understanding of what he is capable of doing after such a great month?

“No, I know that I’m capable of this kind of production,’’ he said. “. . . I’m kind of excited to keep finding out, like, what I’m really capable of, and just making sure that I do that, and do that for this team.’’