The Phillies should not trade Justin Crawford at the deadline
It’s not every day you find an elite five-tool superstar in the making, but the Phillies may happen to have a blooming one in outfielder Justin Crawford. With his father Carl having had quite the MLB career as a four-time All-Star over his 15 seasons, Justin could perhaps be even better following a strong start to his professional baseball journey.
Crawford split his time between the Threshers and BlueClaws last season, accumulating a stellar .332 average and .859 OPS, along with 71 runs scored, 22 doubles, eight triples, three home runs and 64 RBI. At the same time, he displayed his superior speed tool with 47 stolen bases in 55 attempts over 87 games.
This year in High-A, the Phillies No. 3 prospect has sacrificed some of his batting average to improve his stock by adding more power, according to MLB.com's Ben Weinrib. In 68 games, he's hitting a solid .294 with a .765 OPS, 50 runs scored, 14 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 35 RBI and 26 stolen bases.
Crawford has also cleaned up his defensive game, going from a .954 fielding percentage with seven errors committed in 77 games in the field last season to a much-improved .990 fielding percentage with only one error in 56 games this year.
With the former 2022 first-round pick steadily rounding into form in all aspects of his game, if the Phillies traded such a valuable asset, they might be sacrificing a future cornerstone of the franchise.