Like all top prospects, Justin Crawford entered his rookie campaign with the Philadelphia Phillies with a fair bit of hype. After laying waste to the minor leagues as a 21-year-old last year, the hope was that he'd immediately step up and emerge as the star center fielder this team has spent years searching for.
Perhaps not too surprisingly, Crawford was greeted with a rude awakening to Major League Baseball. Through June 15 (his first 215 plate appearances in the big leagues), he was the not-so-proud owner of a .634 OPS and 73 wRC+. Things had gotten so bad that Don Mattingly was practically looking for an excuse to bench Crawford anytime an opposing team sent a left-handed pitcher to the mound.
Thankfully, that tough love appears to have paid off. Since that June 15 cut-off date, Crawford entered the weekend hitting .302/.341/.385 overall, including some fine numbers against southpaws.
Justin Crawford has typically been viewed as a platoon player, a setup that has worked for the Phillies alongside Derek Hill. But since June 15, Crawford is batting .300 against left-handed pitching.
— Cole Weintraub (@WeintraubCole) September 17, 2026
With the help of solid baserunning and gradually improving defense, it's clear that Crawford has now become a staple of the Phillies' lineup prior to the postseason. The real question is what this means for his future, knowing that platoon partners might not be necessary moving forward.
Justin Crawford is crushing left-handed pitchers again, living up to his prospect profile
That cut-off date we used might sound arbitrary, but it basically coincides with the moment Derek Hill joined the team after being cast off from the Chicago White Sox. He's been a particularly good partner for Crawford in center field, posting a .770 OPS and 104 wRC+ against left-handed pitching while in Philadelphia.
What's funny is that those numbers are actually worse than his own numbers against righties (.814 OPS, 119 wRC+) and Crawford's numbers against lefties (.932 OPS, 157 wRC+) in that span. In a roundabout way, his arrival actually spurred better production from the position without him delivering on his primary directive.
Odd splits aside, those who have paid attention to Crawford's rise through the minor leagues shouldn't be too surprised by this development. 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. This is kind of just who he is as a hitter.
There are still parts of his game that require refinement -- he's not getting on base enough, and his defense, though acceptable, has been average at best -- but this is the kind of evolution that changes a team's future plans. We all know how badly the Phillies have struggled to find long-term solutions in the corners of the outfield; having someone in the middle to build around makes the rest of the equation a lot easier to solve.
It'd be wise to exercise some caution when discussing a rookie with an 83 wRC+, but it's clear that Crawford has progressed beyond his early season struggles.
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