Last Friday, Aug. 15, was a big day in Major League Baseball. Teams around the league began calling up their top prospects over the weekend. However, Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Justin Crawford remained in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
It's not just a coincidence that multiple highly touted prospects have joined the MLB ranks over the last few days, either. Aug. 15 marked the date that teams could promote prospects and have them maintain their rookie status for next season. To maintain rookie eligibility, position players must not be on the active roster for more than 45 days or accumulate more than 130 at-bats.
It's a big deal. There's plenty at stake. Rookies who play the full season and win an end-of-year award, like Rookie of the Year, get their team extra draft picks. Teams even accrue extra picks if the player finishes in the top three of MVP voting in the following two seasons.
So, as Friday and the rest of the weekend came and went, the Phillies lost another excuse for keeping Crawford, their No. 3 prospect, stashed down with the IronPigs.
Phillies are running out of excuses to keep Justin Crawford in Triple-A
Crawford, still just 21, has continued raking against Triple-A pitching. In his first season at the highest level of the minors, he's batting .332 with an .853 OPS, four home runs, 39 RBIs, 76 runs scored, and 38 stolen bases in 49 attempts. Crawford picked up three more hits on Sunday and now has 17 knocks during an 11-game hit streak.
Detractors have pointed to his high 60.8 percent ground ball rate as a reason to hold him back. But that might just be who Crawford is at this point. Those negative nellies also seem to conveniently omit the fact that Crawford has a career-best 21.9 percent line drive rate, which is better than the MLB average of 19.8 percent.
Yes, there's room for growth — he's by no means a finished product — but it looks like the former first-round pick has run out of challenges against Triple-A-level pitching.
He has also had issues defensively in center field, specifically his first steps on fly balls. But he has been working on a new strategy with IronPigs coaches for a couple of months now, according to Ty Daubert of Phillies Nation. The team's internal data showed an improvement in June and July on Crawford's first steps, per Daubert. So, that's another encouraging step in the right direction.
Why should Phillies call up Justin Crawford?
If the Phillies envision Crawford as part of their future outfield at Citizens Bank Park, getting him a taste of the big leagues in 2025 can't hurt. Many top prospects get called up for a cup of coffee in the final weeks of the season before landing on the Opening Day roster the following spring. It saves them from going into their first full season wide-eyed, helping the adjustment to the majors.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said numerous times this season that he wouldn't hesitate to bring Crawford up if there was a need. The outfield has been a mess again this season, but that obviously hasn't qualified as a need in the minds of those in charge.
It’s a leadoff big fly for Justin Crawford!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 8, 2025
The @Phillies’ No. 3 prospect rips his 26th extra-base hit, improving his slash line to .329/.414/.433 for the Triple-A @IronPigs: pic.twitter.com/Kml6scXKIZ
The Phillies have also said on numerous occasions that they want Crawford to play every day (or nearly every day) if he's promoted. That makes sense, but at this point in the season, the argument can be made that he'll learn more by being a bench role player down the stretch drive to the playoffs. Being in a clubhouse with veteran leaders like Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto can never be a bad thing.
We haven't even mentioned his game-changing speed. Graded 75 on the 80-grade scale, there's a reason Crawford has a .332 average and a .414 on-base percentage, despite his high ground ball rate. That type of speed off the bench can be beneficial in meaningful games in September.
There's still another date to watch for a Crawford call-up. MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1. If the Phillies haven't promoted their promising outfielder by then, that's the next chance we'll have to potentially see Crawford in the majors. They'll be well out of excuses after that.