Prior to their series-opening victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto — the team's seventh in its last 10 games — the Philadelphia Phillies released their lineup, featuring one notable exclusion: Justin Crawford.
He's back in there for the second game of the set, but it's notable that, for the second time in four days, manager Don Mattingly sat his rookie center fielder against a tough southpaw. Patrick Corbin may not be what he once was, but he remains a difficult matchup for left-handed batters, hence the team's decision to replace Crawford in the lineup with Edmundo Sosa.
That particular choice didn't pay any dividends, as Sosa went just 1-for-3 and was replaced by Crawford later in the game. But it was still a respectable call by the veteran skipper, seeing as the 22-year-old outfielder has hit just .143/.250/.143 against southpaws this season.
Hopefully, with enough tough love, Crawford will improve his game enough to earn back his designation as an everyday starter.
Justin Crawford isn't hopeless against lefties, but the Phillies can't afford to give him too many opportunities
Sitting Crawford against lefties isn't a "new" strategy for Mattingly; it's been a frequent occurrence since he took over for Rob Thompson, though the coaching staff has tried to show more trust in the rookie as the year has progressed.
It's also not news that the Phillies need to cover for one of their player's weaknesses against left-handed pitching. The whole team stinks in that regard. Part of the reason Crawford doesn't sit against every southpaw is that the roster simply doesn't have any alternatives.
What is surprising is that its Crawford who is struggling so much. Last season in Triple-A, he hammered pitchers of the same handedness to the tune of a .376/.411/.518 batting line. His .929 OPS against lefties was 81 points higher than his OPS against righties.
That was a big improvement over previous campaigns, but it's also true that he ran reverse splits in two of his four minor-league seasons and nearly had a third in 2023. This is a guy who, no matter what level of competition he's played at, has always hit left-handed pitchers well.
Obviously, MLB is leaps and bounds above the talent found in the minors, but nothing could have portended a 20 wRC+ against southpaws for Crawford this year. If the Phillies were a rebuilding team, they could give him more reps and let him improve in a trial-by-fire scenario, but they need to stack as many wins as possible with their current core.
Crawford's talent is obvious, and there's no denying he has a bright future. Until he can prove that he can hit a major-league left-hander, though, Mattingly's strategy to protect him is the best call to make.
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