The son of former All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, Justin comes from Las Vegas high school power Bishop Gorman High School, alma mater of Joey Gallo and eventual Yankees first-rounder Austin Wells, among others. The younger Crawford showed off many of his tools on the summer showcase circuit to ensure scouts headed to Vegas this spring, and they haven’t been disappointed.
Anyone who remembers watching his dad play should not be surprised that Crawford is one of the better athletes in this class. He regularly records easily plus run times and that near-elite speed will allow him to be a threat on the bases and cover a ton of ground in the outfield. At the plate, the left-handed hitter has very good bat-to-ball skills, showing the ability to make adjustments. He’s more of a slap hitter now, content to let his legs do the work, but there’s some whip in his swing and he can sit back and drive the ball the other way, with added strength to help him in the power department in the future.
Crawford has the chance to be a plus defender in center field when all is said and done. Teams who believe he’s going to fill out that 6-foot-3 frame and consistently impact the ball will be interested in trying to sign him away from his Louisiana State commitment, perhaps making him just the second Bishop Gorman product to go in the top three rounds (Tyler Whitaker was a third-rounder in 2021) since Gallo was a supplemental first-round pick in 2012.
Carl Crawford spent 15 years in the big leagues and made four All-Star teams while stealing 480 bases. Now it's his son's turn to see what he can do at the highest level. Justin was the Phillies' first-round pick in 2022 and he's steadily climbed the organizational ladder by hitting, getting on base and stealing bags every step of the way. The two-time Futures Gamer spent all of 2025 at Triple-A, winning the International League batting title with a .334 average, finishing with a .411 on-base percentage and swiping 46 bases, all at age 21.
Batting average might not be the tell-all stat people used to think it was, but at a certain point in time when a prospect's low average for a full season is .313 and his career mark is .322, it's hard to ignore. Crawford makes a ton of contact, really limits his swing-and-miss and even upped his walk rate in 2025 while lowering his strikeout rate. Because of his penchant for putting the bat on the ball, he can chase a bit too much, but he continues to hit the ball harder each year he's been a pro. He's confounded evaluators because he does hit the ball on the ground a lot, but that number has gone down each season. It should be noted that his dad never hit more than seven homers in the Minors, then topped out at 19 as a big leaguer.
Crawford's close-to-top-of-the-scale speed remains an asset on both sides of the ball. He's stolen 40+ bases in each of his three full Minor League seasons, and it helps him cover plenty of ground. He's improved as a defender but can also use his wheels to outrun mistakes. He played an outfield corner for the first time in 2025, and that could be his first landing spot in Philadelphia.
A product of Bishop Gorman high school in Las Vegas, Crawford ran and hit his way into the middle of the 2022 Draft's first round and landed with the Phillies. Carl's kid has lived up to billing, reaching Double-A in 2024 at age 20, hitting, getting on base and stealing bags at every stop. A two-time Futures Game performer, Crawford capped off his 2024 season by playing for Team USA in the Premier12 tournament.
In his two full years of pro ball, Crawford has made a ton of contact and gotten on base at a very high clip. That's led to a career .316 average and .371 on-base percentage with a strikeout rate of 18.6 percent heading into the 2025 season. The left-handed hitter has started to answer questions about his ability to impact the baseball, registering more consistently high exit velocities, and while he still has a high groundball rate, that number has dropped from year to year. He may never have a ton of power, but as he keeps adding strength, he should be able to drive and lift the ball for extra bases more frequently. The work Crawford has done to strengthen his lower half has helped him not play as low to the ground, standing more upright in the box to help on that front as well.
More strength also helps Crawford to be more explosive in terms of his baserunning and in his first step covering ground in the outfield. He spent a lot of time working on his defense, and there's still confidence he'll be able to play center field for a long time as he attacks the upper levels of the Phillies system.
The son of longtime big leaguer Carl Crawford, Justin attended Las Vegas high school powerhouse Bishop Gorman, showing off his tools -- most notably his premium speed -- on the summer showcase circuit in 2021 and then into his senior season in '22, allowing him to land in the middle of the first round with the Phillies. He managed to hit and run his way from Single-A Clearwater up to High-A Jersey Shore in his first full season, while also earning an invitation to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
A left-handed hitter, Crawford does a lot of things well at the plate with a setup and approach that's geared for contact. He struck out in fewer than 20 percent of his plate appearances in 2023 en route to hitting a combined .332 with a .392 on-base percentage. There has been some concern with his propensity to hit the ball on the ground, with a ground-ball rate hovering around 70 percent in 2023. He hits the ball plenty hard enough, with a maximum exit velocity of 110 mph, but he needs to work on the quality of his contact and driving the ball more as he moves up the ladder. It's something the Phillies think will happen as he continues to gain strength and learns to lift the ball more.
As fast as Crawford is -- he stole 47 bases in 2023 -- he might even have another gear, with that added strength leading to better body control. That will help him on the basepaths and in center field, where he should easily be a plus defender. Just 20 for all of the 2024 season, he inspires a lot of confidence that he'll make the offensive adjustments necessary to be much more than just a ground-ball guy with elite speed.
A product of Las Vegas high school powerhouse Bishop Gorman, alma mater of big leaguers like Joey Gallo, Carl Crawford’s son inherited a lot of his dad’s speed and athleticism. They were all on display on the summer showcase circuit in 2021 and into Justin's senior season leading up to the 2022 Draft. The Phillies took him No. 17 overall in the first round, then let him show off those tools during a brief pro debut after signing.
Crawford is a long and loose athlete who regularly posts at least plus run times. The fact that he stole 10 bases in 16 games during his pro debut is not a fluke, he'll have the chance to steal a ton of bags as he progresses. He has excellent contact skills and is decidedly hit-over-power, using his speed to his advantage. The Phillies have seen some raw pop in BP and think the power will emerge as he tightens up his swing and adds strength. He’s already put on 15 pounds of good weight since he signed.
Crawford’s speed is a huge asset in the outfield and he has the opportunity to be a plus center fielder for a long time. Evaluators who have seen Crawford as a pro describe his game on both sides of the ball as electric, and there’s excitement about the kind of five-tool potential the teenager might be able to display as he physically matures.
The son of former All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, Justin comes from Las Vegas high-school power Bishop Gorman High School, alma mater of Joey Gallo and eventual Yankees first-rounder Austin Wells, among others. The younger Crawford showed off many of his tools on the summer showcase circuit and continued to perform well in Vegas this spring, leading to him being taken No. 17 overall by the Phillies, who went a little over slot to sign him for $3.894 million.
Anyone who remembers watching his dad play should not be surprised that Crawford was one of the better athletes in the 2022 Draft class. He regularly easily records plus run times and that near-elite speed will enable him to be a threat on the bases and cover a ton of ground in the outfield. At the plate, the left-handed hitter has very good bat-to-ball skills, showing the ability to make adjustments. He’s more of a slap hitter now, content to let his legs do the work, but there’s some whip in his swing, and he can sit back and drive the ball the other way, with added strength to help him in the power department in the future.
Crawford has the chance to be a plus defender in center field when all is said and done, with an above-average arm. The combination of bloodlines and ceiling -- he’ll certainly fill out his 6-foot-3 frame -- already has the Phillies' player development staff excited.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
