Philadelphia Phillies outfield prospect Justin Crawford is having himself a season in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Ranked No. 3 among Phillies prospects by MLB Pipeline, fans are eagerly waiting for the 21-year-old Crawford to finally get the call to the majors. Crawford, apparently, is also waiting for the call.
The Phillies' first-round pick from the 2022 Draft is excelling in his first season at the the highest level that the minor leagues have to offer. He feels ready for his chance at The Show, based on recent comments he made to Cory Nidoh of Philly Sports Network.
"Most definitely," Crawford said about feeling ready to contribute with the Phillies if called to make his MLB debut. "Like I said, it's not in my hands ... they make that decision. I feel ready. Obviously they know best, and whenever they decide to make that decision is when they make it. But I feel good, and I feel like I just have to continue to show up every day and continue to do what I do and just stay in the moment most importantly."
Asked Justin Crawford if he believes what he’s done in AAA gives him confidence he can contribute with #Phillies if he gets the call.
— Cory Nidoh (@Cory_Nidoh) August 7, 2025
“Most definitely. It’s not in my hands, they make that decision. But I feel ready.”
Said team knows best and just has to keep showing up… pic.twitter.com/0sgZn9WUJ0
Phillies can't argue with Justin Crawford's Triple-A performance
He sure is confident. However, Crawford, the son of four-time MLB All-Star Carl Crawford, certainly has a good head on his shoulders, based on how professionally he answered that question.
It's hard to argue with his production in Lehigh Valley this year. MLB Pipeline's No. 44 overall prospect just keeps on hitting, currently batting .329 with an .846 OPS in 93 games. He has racked up 19 doubles, three triples, 33 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Crawford has continued to push for a call-up with his recent performance. In nine August games, he's batting .385 with a 1.022 OPS.
While Crawford has just four home runs this season, if the Phillies are waiting for him to start becoming a home run hitter, we shouldn't hold our breath. He continues to put the ball on the ground at an extremely high 62.2 percent clip, but his 75-grade speed makes up for that. Plus, he's doing it with a career-best 20.5 percent line drive rate.
He's also walking at a 12.8 percent clip and striking out just 18.1 percent of the time, so Triple-A pitching isn't giving him too much trouble, obviously.
Justin Crawford's next chance for a call-up for MLB debut coming soon
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said multiple times this season that he wouldn't hesitate to call up Crawford. It has yet to come to fruition, as the Phillies want Crawford to play on a near-everyday basis if he comes up, per MLB.com's Paul Casella.
So even though Crawford is ready for the call now, it won't happen right away. The next opportunity will come Aug. 15, when teams can bring up prospects and not worry about them losing their rookie status for next season if they keep them under 130 at-bats. For the Phillies, that will require them to cut ties with one of their current outfielders, with Max Kepler being the most likely candidate.
After that, the next chance Crawford will get to make his MLB debut will be when rosters expand in September. The Phillies could want to bring him up at that time to get his feet wet, even if he won't play every day, to prepare him for Opening Day in 2026.