Justin

Crawford

There was some speculation that Crawford might be headed to the big leagues earlier this week when he was abruptly pulled from a Triple-A contest, but it turns out he’s dealing with an injury concern. The 21-year-old speedster has put together a strong campaign so far and figures to arrive in the majors at some point during the second half of the year.

Crawford appears to be day-to-day with a quad issue. He’s hit .349/.416/.448 for Lehigh Valley this season, and some have been calling for him to take over in center for the Phillies, though that still seems premature.

The 21-year-old is now up to 20 steals on the season while slashing .338/.407/.438 with 23 RBI, 38 runs scored, and a 46/24 K/BB ratio in 49 games at Triple-A. He seems ready for the big leagues, but there is no space for him in the Phillies’ outfield right now.

Crawford is hitting .325/.390/.421 with 10 extra-base hits and 10 steals through 29 games this season at the Triple-A level. The 21-year-old former first round pick’s speed is going to make him fantasy-relevant as a batting average and steals source once he reaches the big leagues. He needs to start putting the ball in the air more often if he’s going to reach another level offensively, but there’s a solid foundation of fantasy-relevant skills here. He’ll get some extra time to continue improving in the minors, but he figures to arrive in Philadelphia at some point in the second half.

Despite being just 21 years old, Crawford is slashing .293/.337/.378 in 19 games at Triple-A with a 16:6 K:BB ratio and eight stolen bases. The Phillies would obviously like to see the strikeout and walk rates come together a bit more, but it’s an impressive start to the season for a young player. He could push for a call-up at some point this summer.

The 21-year-old Crawford has done nothing about his extremely high groundball rate in Triple-A, but he does have a 52 percent hard-hit rate to date and his whiff rate has steadily declined even as he’s climbed levels. It’ll be fascinating to see how his game translates to the majors if he gets an opportunity in the Phillies outfield this season.

The 21-year-old is 10-for-35 in eight Triple-A games this season with two walks, three strikeouts and four steals. There is no room at the inn in the Phillies’ outfield, but Crawford could get a chance sometime this summer if he continues to hit like this.

Miller and Crawford are the Phillies’ second and seventh ranked prospects, respectively, according to FanGraphs, and certainly have a future with the team, but neither was likely to make the team out of spring training. Miller will turn 21 years old this season and hit .261/.366/.446 with 11 home runs and 23 steals across three levels in 2024. He should open the season in Double-A and could push for an MLB job by 2026.

Painter is the highest-profile inclusion among Philadelphia’s batch of non-roster invitees, but the widely-held expectation is that he won’t factor into the club’s starting rotation mix until sometime around midseason. Miller tore through three levels last year to make it to the upper minors at just 20 years old. He’s one of the more intriguing shortstop prospects in the dynasty landscape. Crawford boasts blazing speed and is going to be a steals source for fantasy purposes the moment he arrives on the scene.

The Phillies only have one opening in their starting rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez returning in 2025, but it seems that they are intent on taking a big swing to fill it. Bohm is 28 years old and coming off three straight solid seasons but seems to be capped as a .280 hitter with 15-20 home run power, so it’s unclear if that profile would excite the White Sox. Especially with the Orioles and Red Sox are allegedly open to trading some of the top 15 prospects in all of baseball. It’s still early days, but the Phillies seem intent on shaking up their lineup, and Nightingale reports that “if the Phillies trade Bohm, they are expected to make a strong play for Alex Bregman, whose talent and personality would fit in perfectly with the team, or perhaps sign Willy Adames and move him over to third base.”