Two Threshers to Represent Phillies in All-Star Futures Game
The rosters for the 2023 All-Star Futures Game were announced this past weekend, and a pair of Threshers are set to represent the Phillies in a contest showcasing some of baseball's top young talent ahead of the Midsummer Classic. Current Threshers outfielder Justin Crawford and 2021 Threshers' hurler Mick Abel
The rosters for the 2023 All-Star Futures Game were announced this past weekend, and a pair of Threshers are set to represent the Phillies in a contest showcasing some of baseball's top young talent ahead of the Midsummer Classic. Current Threshers outfielder Justin Crawford and 2021 Threshers' hurler Mick Abel were the two Phillies prospects selected to play in the Futures Game.
Crawford was drafted by the Phillies with the seventeenth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft in July of last year and made his debut with the Threshers later that August. He began the 2023 season on Clearwater's Opening Day roster and has been a mainstay in centerfield throughout the duration of the year. Justin is currently atop the Florida State League leaderboard in batting average, hitting .346 in his first full season as a pro. He is also second in the league in stolen bases (32), and top-10 in triples (tied for fifth) OPS (seventh), hits (eighth), and slugging percentage (ninth). Crawford's stellar season is his first full season in baseball and has been noticed on prospect rankings in the major leagues, rising from the fourth to the third-ranked Phillies prospect and entering the top-100 prospect list at 90 according to MLB.com.
On that same prospect list, right-hander pitcher Mick Abel is ranked inside the top 50 of baseball prospects, the second-highest in the Phillies system. Abel was the fifteenth overall pick of the Phillies in the 2020 draft and is in his third year as a professional playing with the Double-A Fightin Phils in Reading. A Thresher in 2021, Abel is enjoying great success as he continues to move up the Phillies minor league system, currently holding opposing hitters to a .198 batting average against and 64 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched with the Fightins.
The Futures game takes place on Saturday, July Eighth in T-Mobile Park in Seattle. It will be televised on Peacock and air on Sirius XM radio with a 7:00 pm EST first pitch...The Threshers will be at home that weekend facing the First Half East Division Champion Palm Beach Cardinals...First pitch for games beginning on Tuesday, July 4th until Saturday, July 9th will take place at 6:30 pm, with a 12:00 pm game on Sunday the 10th... You can purchase tickets for Threshers games at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.