The Philadelphia Phillies are looking for the right combination of players to get the team back to a World Series. Philadelphia is making an investment in one of their top prospects. Outfield prospect Justin Crawford is making the team's Opening Day roster, per ESPN.
Crawford is currently the team's third-best prospect, per MLB Prospect rankings. He has been hitting well for the team this spring. Crawford has a .277 batting average this spring with 13 total hits.
“Crawford is the 69th-ranked prospect in the sport on my latest top 100,” ESPN reporter Kiley McDaniel posted to X, formerly Twitter.
In his ESPN evaluation, Crawford received glowing reviews about his ability to hit the ball.
“Crawford has plus contact skills and a solid approach along with solid-average raw power; he'll sting the ball (46% hard-hit rate) though without the secondary power skills (loft in the swing and pull/lift ability) to regularly put the ball over the fence,” McDaniel wrote.
During the 2025 season, Crawford worked in Triple-A for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. That is the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate. He hit at a .334 batting average with seven home runs. He also drove in 47 runs for the club.
“Justin is the son of longtime MLB outfielder Carl Crawford and is also a plus-plus runner who covers a lot of ground in the outfield, steals a lot of bags and mostly wears out the gaps as a left-handed hitter, but also hits some mistakes over the fence. On the other hand, Justin plays center field and has a leaner build than his dad,” McDaniel added.
Philadelphia's other prospects ahead of Crawford are shortstop Aidan Miller, and right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter. The Phillies play a spring game on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.
