Phillies' Justin Crawford Proving Doubters Wrong So Far

There may not have been a player on the Philadelphia Phillies roster with more attention and pressure on him heading into Spring Training than Justin Crawford.

Philadelphia’s lack of activity on the outfield market over the offseason paved the way for Crawford to start the season as the team’s starting center fielder. 

Even with the 22-year-old carrying a top prospect status, there were still some questions about his ability to drive the ball, handle the outfield position, and whether he could truly help the Phillies roster win a World Series in 2026.

So far during Spring Training, Crawford is silencing all of the critics and proving the doubters wrong. It’s early, but he’s looked good in both the batter’s box and in the outfield.

In Crawford’s first at-bat of the Grapefruit League, he ripped a double that bounced off the center field wall and that missed being a home run by just a few feet. That trend has continued since the first Spring Training game, as the prospect owns a .824 OPS over the first week and a half, including three doubles, in 16 at-bats.

One of Crawford's biggest criticisms in the Minor Leagues was that he had trouble with his launch angle, casting doubt that his success could be replicated once he reached the Majors. His groundball rate at Triple-A in 2025 was 59.4 percent, and it’s even harder to get the ball in the air at the big-league level. 

In six big-league Spring Training games, Crawford owns a groundball rate of 45.5 percent and a line-drive rate of 36.4 percent. That may still be a little higher than the Phillies want, but it’s an improvement and progress. 

Moving out into the outfield, Crawford has also made some nice running catches following encouraging jumps. The only way the 22-year-old is going to learn to play the position is by getting opportunities there, and Crawford has shown the ability to learn and grow in center field.

Yes, it’s early, the same size is still small, and Opening Day isn’t for another three weeks, but that shouldn’t take away from what Crawford has shown the Phillies up to this point.

There are still some questions about whether Crawford can sustain some of this success, but he’s certainly proving that some of the concerns coming into camp may not be as big of issues as they were last year.  

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