Justin Crawford and Mick Abel will represent the Phillies in the 2023 Futures Game

The first six players named to the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game were announced on Monday. The first six players named to the roster are Boston Red Sox' prospect Marcelo Mayer, Jonatan Clase from the Seattle Mariners' system, and Owen White of the Texas Ranger's farm system for the American League. San Francisco Giant's prospect Kyle Harrison, Endy Rodríguez from the Pittsburgh Pirate's organization, and Phillies' No. 3 prospect Justin Crawford were named to the National League side.

Phillies prospect Justin Crawford named to MLB Futures Game

Crawford was recently named to the top 100 prospects in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Crawford is now the 90th ranked prospect in all of baseball. The young outfielder has put up the numbers this year to back up his newly founded national attention.

Crawford— the son of former Major League outfielder Carl Crawford— was drafted by the Phillies 17th overall in the 2022 MLB draft. His first professional season— albeit a small sample size— was a bit of a struggle. That was to be expected as he was just 18 years old.

Fast-forward to 2023 and Crawford's numbers are drastically better as he has adapted to professional baseball. Through 46 games, Crawford is slashing .346/.395/.456. Power is not Crawford's specialty as he has yet to hit a home run this season. Power tends to develop as players age so there is a shot that Crawford develops some pop over time. He does have ten doubles and five triples, however. The real threat that Crawford brings to the game is his speed. In his first 46 games this season the speedy centerfielder has 32 stolen bases already.

Crawford is a solid defensive centerfielder too. With his speed he covers a vast amount of ground in the outfield. He projects to be a centerfielder when he eventually reaches the Majors. He is still a long way away from making his MLB debut as he is just 19 years old. There is still plenty of development and growth that the Phillies will want to see from Crawford but a promotion to High-A Jersey Shore could happen before the end of the season.

Phillies prospect Mick Abel named to MLB Futures Game

It was announced on Monday night that the Phillies' No. 2 prospect Mick Abel would be joining Crawford in Seattle in the Futures Game. Abel has been one of the Phillies' top prospects for a couple years now. He is currently ranked 46th among all prospects in baseball.

Abel has had an up and down year to this point. He currently has a 4.53 ERA in 12 games. He has pitched 55 2/3 innings and has struck out 64 batters and opponents are hitting just .196 against him. The issue that has plagued Abel in his poor starts has been his control. He has walked 32 batters which brings his BB/9 ration to 5.17 which is high.

If Abel can get his command in order, he could be a dominant pitcher as his fastball sits in the high 90s and he has an above average slider. He also throws a curveball and changeup which gives him a good mix of pitches to get batters out.

Being one of the first six Futures Game players announced indicates that people are noticing Crawford's development and potential. Abel's potential has also been recognized in being added to the Futures Game roster. The game is a nice chance for them— and some of the other most anticipated prospects in baseball— to showcase their skills and give fans a glimpse into the future of the sport.