Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford started to look like a bust before completely turning his 2017 season around, returning him to the top prospect conversation.
J.P. Crawford was the Phillies top prospect for three straight years coming into this season. The 2013 first-round pick had all the tools and athleticism necessary to make it as a top-end major-league shortstop and the rankings reflected that.
However, this season started off not at all what we had hoped for Crawford. Through his first 56 games in Triple-A this year, Crawford hit just .194 with a .565 OPS. His strong plate discipline numbers were still there, but otherwise he just couldn’t do anything wrong.
Crawford spent nine days nursing a groin injury, allowing him to take a mental break from the game. That break helped as Crawford hit four home runs in his next 20 games after coming back.
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Despite starting to show some signs of life, the baseball world seemed ready to write him off as just another first-round bust who couldn’t hit at the upper levels. Baseball America dropped Crawford to No. 92 overall in their midseason rankings and was considering dropping him completely out of the top 100 altogether.
BA editor John Manuel told Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly that they no longer saw Crawford as an “impact player” at the major-league level:
"“I still think he can be a big-league regular, but I do have my doubts about him being an impact player. And a couple years ago, I thought this was a guy who could have solid, average power, a 15-home run guy and a slick shortstop who would get on base a lot. … He still gets on base some, but I don’t think you get respected in the big leagues if you don’t drive the baseball.”"
As soon as that quote came out, Crawford instantly responded:
All it is is motivation..
— jp crawford (@jp_crawford) July 12, 2017
From then on, Crawford went on an absolute tear. In the last 51 games of the year, Crawford had a .287/.385/.513 with nine home runs, 23 extra-base hits, 29 runs batted in, and 35 runs scored. He finally started hitting like a top prospect, and the Phillies recognized that.
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Once the minor-league regular season ended, Crawford was called up to the majors rather than playing in the playoffs. He got plenty of playing time as well, appearing in 23 games down the stretch for the Phils.
At the plate, Crawford was a mixed bag. He posted an impressive .356 on-base percentage with a 18.4 percent walk rate, but he only recorded 15 hits in 70 at-bats. He had a six-game hitting streak where he hit .381 with a .964 OPS, but for the most part Crawford didn’t hit too much at the plate.
On defense Crawford was solid, not making a single error at second, third or shortstop.
His best defensive position according to ultimate zone rating (UZR) was third base and he made some nice plays there while in the majors. However, it’s hard to garner any definitive numbers when he played just four games at shortstop, six at second, and 13 at third.
Crawford had a strong resurgence in the second half of the season, showing he has major-league potential. Upon reaching the majors he continued to show that potential with his strong plate discipline and above-average defense. His hitting at the majors definitely could have been better, but this season as a whole should be viewed as a positive. In my mind, Crawford deserves a “B-” for this year.
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Next season we will get a much larger look at Crawford in the majors, which should tell us if he truly is an impact player at the major-league level.