Phillies: Time to Be Concerned with Top Prospect J.P. Crawford?
Phillies have no need to rush J.P. Crawford, but they should be worried about his lack of production
Fans have kept a close eye on Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford, a consensus top-five prospect in all of baseball. Once dubbed “Jimmy Rollins 2.0” the expectations on Crawford have been astronomical from day one.
While just 22-years-old Crawford is one of the youngest players in Triple-A ball, highlighting his advanced approach and defense.
Crawford has historically struggled every time he takes another step up in the organization. After 122 games in Reading where he hit .265 Crawford has failed to get his average above .230 in Lehigh Valley.
Through the IronPigs first 12 games, Crawford is hitting an embarrassing .098 with an on-base percentage barely clipping .220 on the year.
Over his last 10 games for Lehigh Valley Crawford has just three hits and nine strikeouts. His tendency of forcing an above-average number of walks is still apparent with seven over the same 10 games.
Should the Phils be concerned about Crawford going forward?
How concerned are you that J.P. Crawford will be a bust for the Phillies?
— PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) April 17, 2017
It appears the fans think so.
Has Crawford simply been an overhyped name in a bad farm system (AKA Dominic Brown/Cody Asche) or is he still developing as a player?
Only time will tell but thankfully the Phillies have Freddy Galvis holding down the fort at shortstop going forward. Having a Gold Glove caliber player with 20 home run potential as a bridge between Rollins and Crawford is nothing to sneeze at.
Perhaps it’s too early for Philadelphia to consider trading their other top shortstop prospect Malquin Canelo, who’s hitting .250 in Reading.
Next: Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Atlanta Braves Series Opener
Trust the Process.