With the month of September fast approaching, the annual MLB call-ups to complement the teams’ expanded rosters are just around the corner. As a result, there are many players currently in the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league system who are desperately vying for one of the two spots available to complete their 28-man roster heading into the stretch run of the 2025 MLB regular season.
Among those in the heat of the competition is the Phillies' No. 3 MLB Pipeline prospect Justin Crawford. His steady yet strong performance throughout his 2025 minor league campaign so far has likely already warranted him the opportunity to eventually make the big league team this year. But by making a convincing, last-ditch effort, Crawford’s chances of being promoted to the majors soon might just have increased that much more.
Justin Crawford dinger!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 24, 2025
The @Phillies' No. 3 prospect (MLB No. 68) is now batting .327 for the Triple-A @IronPigs this season. pic.twitter.com/4rFHjoxYaz
Justin Crawford blasts fifth, sixth homers of season in final push for MLB debut with Phillies
On Sunday, the 21-year-old outfielder belted his fifth home run of the year. Then on Tuesday he hit his sixth as part of a three-hit night, showcasing his power in addition to his well-known hitting ability and speed. For the season, Crawford is batting a stellar .331 with an .856 OPS, along with a whopping 81 runs scored, 23 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 45 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in 106 games with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Justin Crawford goes the other way!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 26, 2025
The @Phillies' No. 3 prospect swats his 6th long ball of the season -- and 33rd extra-base hit for the Triple-A @IronPigs: pic.twitter.com/u7q1aS0D74
More importantly, he has also demonstrated greater patience at the plate, registering a career-high 55 walks. To also show that he hasn’t let his foot off the pedal all season, Crawford has posted a strong .352 batting average and .934 OPS in August, with 22 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 22 games.
With the Phillies attempting to figure out their outfield situation all season, Crawford could play a huge role down the stretch in fixing that up. Even though it has looked better of late with a rotation, the young phenom could add that extra element of the elite combination of hitting and speed off the bench for the Phillies for the remainder of the season.
With Andrew Painter not having his best stuff to date with Lehigh Valley and despite the late charge by infielder top prospect Aidan Miller, who had earlier struggled mightily to begin his 2025 minor league campaign, the consistency and productivity provided by Crawford throughout the season should give him the upper hand in getting the much-deserved promotion to the big league club by the time next week rolls around. Phillies fans will hopefully be able to witness the beginning of the Crawford era in Philadelphia.