Phillies top outfield prospect can't wait for Phillies debut and they could use him

While we wait for the offseason to officially get underway after the World Series, there has been plenty of early speculation about what the Philadelphia Phillies roster will look like when Opening Day rolls around at the end of next March.

The outfield is an obvious glaring area of concern for a team that failed to live up to postseason expectations this season. Heading into 2025, there isn't much confirmed about how those three spots will look next year, save for veteran Nick Castellanos manning right field on a daily basis. Brandon Marsh also got a vote of confidence from Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski during the end-of-season press conference last week.

Other than that, there are question marks all around, especially in center field.

Phillies top prospect Justin Crawford can't wait for Phillies debut and they could use him

The Phillies have an up-and-coming prospect seemingly destined to patrol center field at Citizens Bank Park someday. They haven't ruled out No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford as a possibility for 2025, but how soon his MLB debut comes is still up in the air.

For his part, Crawford is chomping at the bit to get to Philadelphia as fast as possible and made great strides this year toward that goal. While in Philadelphia in September to receive his Paul Owens Award as the organization's best minor league position player, Crawford spoke to the media about his desire to reach the majors.

"Ya, most definitely. I mean, since I first got drafted here, I'm always like, alright, I want to get to Philly as fast as I can," Crawford said when asked if being at the ballpark made him excited to potentially be a part of the team soon. "And kind of just trying to take it one day at a time and constantly trying to get better ... one day hopefully, when the time is right, I'll be here."

You can see a path for Crawford after Johan Rojas didn't make the strides the team had hoped he would this season. Rojas will be back in a fight to earn a roster spot again next year after Dombrowski was hesitant to name him the team's center fielder.

"We like Rojas but we need offensive improvement there from him," Dombrowski said. "We have a plan this wintertime. He’s going to live in Clearwater. We have a plan for him from an offensive perspective … but I can’t say for sure he’s going to be our center fielder."

You can't blame the Phillies for holding the door open for challengers for the center field job next year. Rojas hit .243 with a .601 OPS in 120 games. He improved his strikeout rate to 19 percent, but a 68 wRC+ simply didn't provide enough at the bottom of the order.

Crawford could make his MLB debut in 2025

As for the team's outlook on Crawford, it sounds like the speedy center fielder with a potent bat has a chance to be a part of the big league team at some point next season.

“Crawford is coming very fast," Dombrowski said last week. "I’m not sure when we go into spring training that we’re going to count on him being one of our big league starting outfielders, but he has a lot of ability. It wouldn't surprise me if he came in anytime.”

Those are heady words, especially when you consider that in the same breath, the Phillies president ruled out No. 1 prospect Aidan Miller as an option next year.

As The Athletic's Matt Gelb observes, Crawford still has some maturing to do (subscription required), physically and with his swing. But the 20-year-old's results from High- and Double-A this past season show that he's making progress. With a focus on elevating the ball to tap into his power, Crawford hit .313 with an .805 OPS, nine home runs, 25 doubles and four triples in 110 games.

The accolades continue pouring in for the 2022 first-round pick. On top of receiving the Paul Owens Award from the Phillies, MLB Pipeline named him the Phillies' top hitting prospect this season.

After ranking in the bottom half to bottom third of the majors in most offensive stats in 2024, the Phillies outfield needs to be reworked. While they're sure to dip into the free agent pool this winter, there's no doubt that Dombrowski and company will be keeping one eye on Crawford and propping the door slightly ajar for a debut at some point during the 2025 campaign.

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