The Road to The Show™: Phillies’ Crawford

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at third-ranked Phillies prospect Justin Crawford. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Growing up, Justin Crawford struggled to find success while attempting to model his game after his father, four-time All-Star and 15-year Major League veteran Carl Crawford. Eventually, he blossomed as a prospect by doing things his own way.

However, MLB Pipeline’s No. 88 overall prospect has built a profile based on elite speed -- he runs down just about everything in the outfield and has emerged as one of the Minors’ best base stealers -- and advanced bat-to-ball skills, which makes for a scouting report that doesn’t look much different than his dad’s.

"Even though I have broken out of that, kind of not trying to be like him, it's kind of ended up that our games are actually very similar in a way," Justin told MLB.com prior to last year’s Draft. "I'd say we're both really good, elite hitters that can run, that can really change the game on both sides of the ball with our speed. I think it's just really kind of funny like that, how our games both ended up just being really, really similar."

Currently ranked as the Phillies’ No. 3 prospect, Crawford has certainly lived up to the scouting report in his first full season with Single-A Clearwater. He enters the week batting .342/.390/.452 with 35 RBIs and 36 runs scored in 50 games. Crawford’s 33 stolen bases rank second in the Florida State League.

As a Draft prospect, Crawford wasn’t expected to hit for much power. He’s still looking for his first professional homer but has found some gaps, collecting 10 doubles and six triples already this season. The 19-year-old should be able produce more pop at the plate as he fills out his 6-foot-1 frame.

“I think we’re happy with how well he’s hit to start off,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com last week. “He’s tall and thin, but he already gained weight from last year. He is going to continue to get stronger because he’s got that type of body. And he flies. … I saw him hit a ball off the wall when I was there one day [a couple weeks ago]. I said, ‘In two years that’s a home run.’ We don’t care if he hits any home runs [this year] because the most important thing is he makes contact and controls the strike zone. That will all take care of itself with his natural progression.”

Crawford finished high school at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, which has produced 10 Major Leaguers so far. During his senior season in 2022, he batted .503 with 30 extra-base hits, including five home runs. He also stole 20 bases and struck out just seven times.

Even before he was a Draft prospect, Crawford participated in different MLB Develops programs. He played in the Elite Development Invitational in 2018 and in the Breakthrough Series and Dream Series. He also made a splash at the Perfect Game All-American Classic before the Draft.

Crawford joined the pack of sons of former Major Leaguers -- which included the Orioles' Jackson Holliday and D-backs’ Druw Jones, the Nos. 1 and 2 picks, respectively -- to be selected in the first round of last year’s Draft. Crawford went to the Phillies at No. 17, which was nearly the same spot in which Philadelphia selected his cousin, Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, who was selected No. 16 overall in 2013.

The moment Justin Crawford became a Phillie.#RingTheBell x #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/cKkPyeSn8C

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 18, 2022

After signing a reported $3.89 million bonus, slightly above slot value, Crawford headed to the Phillies’ facility in Clearwater, Florida. Since then, he’s played his entire professional career in his father’s old stomping grounds in the Tampa Bay area.

Following the Draft, Crawford played in just 16 games in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and in the FSL. Overall, he batted .241/.333/.276 with 10 stolen bases in his professional bow.

So far this season, Crawford has been one of the better hitters in the FSL, and he’s currently scorching for the Threshers. He has hits in 17 of his last 18 games and is batting .397/.407/.590 with 15 RBIs and 14 stolen bases over that span.

Clearwater has a few games on its schedule before Crawford’s scheduled appearance in his first Futures Game on Saturday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. As one of the best candidates for promotion in the system, once he leaves Florida, he may not come back. And he could certainly be playing his next regular season game with High-A Jersey Shore.