CLEARWATER, Fla. 每 The Phillies believe Justin Crawford is ready for the next big challenge.
He will start the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, despite turning just 21 in January and having only 180 plate appearances above High-A Jersey Shore. Crawford is the Phillies＊ No. 3 prospect and the No. 63 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He not only has played well at every level in the Phillies＊ system, but he played well this spring at big-league camp.
※I think there＊s going to be a learning curve for him in Triple-A, but I think he＊ll go up there and play well,§ Phillies player development director Luke Murton said. ※But there＊s an opportunity to learn and get better, and at the end of the day, we think to help the Philadelphia Phillies in the future, the next best step for him is Triple-A.§
Crawford was the 17th overall pick in the 2022 Draft. He has slashed .316/.371/.442 in 953 plate appearances over the past three seasons. He has stolen 99 bases and has played an elite-level center field.
He went 4-for-11 (.364) with two stolen bases, two walks and one strikeout in eight Grapefruit League games.
※He＊s done everything we＊ve asked him to do,§ Murton said. ※The biggest thing with Justin is that he＊s a very talented kid, and he＊s a very tough kid. He＊s a competitive kid. You put him in that environment [big-league camp] and we thought we knew how he＊d react, and he did.§
There has been talk about how Crawford hits the ball on the ground too much. His ground-ball percentage was 62.5 percent in 2022 and 69.7 in '23.
It dropped to 60.9 percent last season. The big league average was 42.7 percent in 2024.
The Phillies think that percentage will continue to fall as Crawford gets older. But with his speed, they also say they are OK with him hitting the ball on the ground because there are a lot of hits there for him as a result of his elite speed.
If Crawford plays well in Triple-A, he could push for a promotion before the end of the season. Eyes will be on him, but they also will be on current Phillies center fielders Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas.
※We tell guys all the time, it doesn＊t matter where you start, it matters where you finish,§ Murton said. ※Justin playing in the big leagues or not playing in the big leagues, starting in Triple-A or Double-A honestly doesn＊t really make a big difference. Think about it, a couple years ago, Rojas came from Double-A to the big leagues. It＊s not, ＆This gets [Crawford] closer to the big leagues.＊ It＊s more like, ＆Hey, it＊s better pitchers, it＊s a little bit more talent.＊ It＊s closer to the big leagues from a performance and talent standpoint, so we want to challenge him and put him in the best environment to be challenged and thrive.§