Phillies Top 30 prospects starting the season in High-A
High-A, also known as Class-A advanced, is the higher of the two A-ball levels. The Jersey Shore BlueClaws is home to many top prospects looking to hit the ground running against their first real test at the professional level. These levels are also often used as rehab spots for players returning from injury.
Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies No. 4 prospect (MLB No. 72)
Justin Crawford, son of long-time MLB great Carl Crawford, has burst onto the scene since being drafted in 2022, honing some of the top-end tools in all of the minor leagues.
Crawford, 20, is the No. 4 prospect in the Phillies system, and for good reason. With a 75-grade run tool to go along with above-average contact and fielding, the Las Vegas native has the build of being an everyday starting center fielder in the future.
No. 3 @Phillies prospect Justin Crawford went 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI in last night's @Threshers win over Tampa! pic.twitter.com/XNWYtqPH8v
— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) August 10, 2023
After getting accustomed to professional baseball in 2022, his raked in his first full season in 2023.
The tall lefty started in Low-A where he hit .288 with a .791 OPS over 18 games while swiping seven bags. After being called up to his current squad, the BlueClaws, Crawford hit .344 with an .877 OPS and stole 40 bases in just 69 games. He sat just one point shy of a .400 on-base percentage for the season, coming in at .399.
While Crawford seems to be putting things together, his projected ETA in the majors is 2026, meaning that he is further away than some of the other prospects on the list. That being said, his future is much brighter than most.
The combination of speed, contact, and fielding is valuable for any team. In 2023 we saw something very similar with Johan Rojas. Rojas was a lower-level prospect who shot through the system because of his elite glove in center field and his ability to find grass at the plate.
Crawford has one of the brightest futures of anybody in the Phillies organization, it may just be a couple seasons before he gets to show his true talent in red pinstripes.
William Bergolla, SS/2B, Phillies No. 12 prospect
William Bergolla, 19, was the Phillies top international signee in 2022 and has shown flashes of being a professional player for a long time.
Son of former MLB player William Bergolla Sr., the younger Bergolla has a skill that is fading in today's game: the ability to not strike out. In 323 plate appearances across his minor league career, the Venezuelan has only struck out 21 times, a 6.5 percent strikeout rate. He also walked exactly double the amount, reaching base 42 times on free passes.
While he is ranked as the Phillies No. 12 prospect, other sources value him much higher, such as Baseball America, which put him in their Top 10, ranked No. 8.
Being 19 years old means that Bergolla is a ways away from the majors, but he has the promise to stick. Another son of a former major leaguer who has great hitting and fielding tools, Bergolla can become a product of the Phillies system and grow not only as a baseball player but as a man.
Other notable High-A prospects: Samuel Aldegheri, Hendry Mendez, Emaarion Boyd, Wen Hui Pan, Bryan Rincon