Justin Crawford might still have a promising MLB future with the Philadelphia Phillies.
At this moment, though, he’s done little to help the team actually win games.
On the surface: Crawford has just one hit in his last 26 at-bats.
That’s dropped his season OPS to .650, and he leads all of MLB in groundball rate. While speedy players are often encouraged to keep the ball on the ground, doing it this frequently makes it nearly impossible to produce any real damage.
Crawford is undeniably fast his sprint speed ranks in the 98th percentile—so that’s a unique asset he brings.
Yet, according to Baseball Savant, his “Baserunning Run Value” is below average (36th percentile).
His center field defense is even more concerning. He gets poor jumps, leading to a “Range” rating in just the 13th percentile and a negative-2 Outs Above Average.
Even if some of those metrics aren’t familiar, the bottom line is clear: Crawford hasn’t been good enough.
He’s not hitting the ball hard (20th percentile in exit velocity) or in the air. He’s not making plays in the field. He’s not taking the extra bases his speed should allow.
Philadelphia trusted Crawford as their Opening Day center fielder, but they’re nearing a point where they must decide how much faith they still have in him to take the next step.
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