Phillies To Select Justin Crawford’s Contract

The Phillies have told outfield prospect Justin Crawford that he’ll be breaking camp with the team, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  The widely-expected move means that Crawford will need to have his contract officially selected to Philadelphia’s 40-man roster before Opening Day, but that isn’t an issue since the Phils currently have only 38 spots filled.

There was some speculation that Crawford would receive his first call to the majors last summer, though the Phillies instead chose to keep him in Triple-A for the entirety of his age-21 season.  Crawford (who turned 22 in January) hit .334/.411/.452 with seven homers and 46 steals (out of 57 attempts) over 506 plate appearances with Lehigh Valley, which represented Crawford’s first taste of Triple-A action.

It was an impressive performance that only cemented Crawford’s status as a key plank of the Phillies’ future.  The offseason saw Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos subtracted from the Phils’ outfield picture, Harrison Bader left to sign with the Giants, and another unexpected development emerged earlier this week when Johan Rojas was issued an 80-game PED suspension.  Philadelphia signed Adolis Garcia to take over in the right field, and with Brandon Marsh returning to take the bulk of the left field at-bats, Crawford will line up as the Phillies’ regular choice in center field.

Pundits are mixed on whether or not Crawford will be able to stick in center field, or if he’ll eventually need to move to left field (like his dad, former four-time All-Star Carl Crawford).  As a hitter, Crawford’s ability to consistently put the ball in the air may be his biggest challenge against Major League pitching, as he has posted high grounder rates throughout his minor league career.  On the positive side, Crawford has at least reduced his grounder rates every year, and his 70-grade speed allows him to beat out several of those grounders.

The 17th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Crawford has drawn regular attention on top-100 prospect lists.  Heading into 2026, the Athletic’s Keith Law has Crawford highest on his list in the 48th spot, while MLB Pipeline (53rd), ESPN (69th), and Baseball America (75th) continue to include the outfielder in their rankings.

This top-100 prospect status and Crawford’s inclusion on the Opening Day roster means that he can qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive.  If Crawford logs a full year of MLB service time and either wins the 2026 Rookie of the Year Award or finishes within the top three in NL MVP voting in his pre-arbitration seasons, Philadelphia would earn a bonus draft pick down the road.

Between Crawford and Andrew Painter, the Phillies have two PPI-eligible players as part their Opening Day roster.  The two highly-touted prospects face some extra pressure in joining a Phils team expecting to contend for a World Series this year, plus there’s the bigger-picture importance of how having two everyday contributors (or even breakout stars) on inexpensive pre-arb contracts can help the big-spending Phillies somewhat balance their payroll.