Justin Crawford Impresses in Phillies Grapefruit Opener

There’s massive pressure on Justin Crawford to perform in his rookie season with the Philadelphia Phillies. Whether those expectations are fair or not, the reality is that he faces the Phillies with the World Series window wide open, but starting to close.

One game into Philadelphia’s slate of 2026 spring training games, and Crawford is already showing why the team has been so high on him and why he’s the No. 3 prospect in the organization.

Crawford was Philllies’ leadoff hitter in their Grapefruit Opener lineup, and he kicked off the game with a leadoff double to deep center field. 

He went on to go 2-for-3 at the plate with a strikeout. Philadelphia really couldn’t have asked for a better performance from Crawford, even though it was an exhibition game.

On top of the impressive day at the plate, Crawford also made a nice sliding catch in center field. The 22-year-old’s defense has been one of the biggest question marks, and Crawford at least proved on one play that he has the potential to be at least an average defender.

Crawford said after the game that it “felt really good” to finally be back on the field. 

“I was kind of itching these last couple of days to kind of get on this field and get some games going, so I definitely felt good to kind of just get back in that atmosphere, get in the fans around, just going and competing,” said the Phillies outfielder.

Manager Rob Thomson liked what he saw from Crawford both at the plate and in the field, too. 

“He had ood at bats. He got called out on the timing, but the double, really look good against those two left handers. [He] saw a lot of pitches today, got a really good jump in the outfield on that second line drive. That was a good start,” said Philly’s skipper.

Even with the impressive performance on the field on Saturday, Thomson was just as impressed by how Crawford is handling himself off the diamond.

“I think just his poise and his maturity,” continued Thomson. “He acts like a professional. He acts like he deserves to be here.”

It’s hard not to overreact after just one spring outing, but Crawford really did give the Phillies reason to be encouraged with his potential. Now, it’s about building off Saturday’s game and putting together consecutive solid appearances at the plate. 

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