Prospect Guru Urges Philadelphia Phillies to Call Up Son of Big-League All-Star

Justin Crawford, who is the son of former All-Star Carl Crawford, is currently the No. 56 prospect in baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford (80) runs home to score against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Charlotte Sports Park in 2025.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford (80) runs home to score against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Charlotte Sports Park in 2025. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, officially overtaking the New York Mets for first place in the National League East. And MLB Insider Jim Callis has an idea of how to make the Phillies even stronger: Call-up top prospect Justin Crawford.

Crawford, an outfielder, is the No. 56 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He's also the son of former big-leaguer Carl Crawford.

The son of four-time All-Star Carl Crawford, Justin has similar hitting ability and speed with less power but the ability to play a fine center field. He's batting .319/.380/.422 with 15 steals in 39 Triple-A games at age 21. He's a better all-around player than Johan Rojas and offers more upside than Brandon Marsh, the Phillies' two best options in center.

Crawford was a first-round pick of the Phillies in the 2021 draft out of the Nevada high school ranks. He is the No. 3-ranked prospect in the organization, behind only pitcher Andrew Painter and infielder Aidan Miller.

As for Carl, he spent 15 years in the big leagues with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was that four-time All-Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover and an All-Star Game MVP. He hit 136 home runs and was a career .290 hitter over those 15 seasons. In addition to his stolen base prowess (480 total), he also led the American League in triples four times.

At the big-league level, the Phillies will play the Rockies again on Tuesday night.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.