The Philadelphia Phillies have done well to fight their way back into playoff contention after a terrible start to the season. But to keep that momentum going, they’ll need to make some adjustments on offense. One major issue has been the performance of their right-handed hitters against left-handed pitching, which has been dreadful.
That’s not their only offensive concern. The Phillies aren’t ready to give up on center fielder Justin Crawford, but if his production doesn’t improve, he could find himself on the bench more often. Adjusting to the big leagues has been tough Crawford is in a deep slump, managing just one hit in his last 26 at-bats, dropping his slash line to .235/.304/.346.
Crawford’s Problem: Keeping the Ball Off the Ground
On the bright side, he’s not overmatched at the plate his 19.6% strikeout rate is actually below the league average. The real issue is that when he does make contact, he’s pounding the ball into the ground far too often. According to FanGraphs, through May 25, Crawford has a ground ball rate of 61.5% the only MLB player at or above 60%. That puts him on the edge of a club nobody wants to join.
As Anthony Dabbundo pointed out, only seven qualified hitters in MLB history have had a ground ball rate of at least 60%. Of those, just one Wilson Ramos in 2019 (105 wRC+) finished with a league-average or better wRC+. Raimel Tapia was the most recent in 2021 with a 75 wRC+. The others: Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2020), Ian Desmond (2018), Tim Anderson (2021), Howie Kendrick (2016), and Eric Hosmer (2018).
Crawford’s current wRC+ is 85, with an OPS+ of 80 and an Rbat+ of 76 all below average. He’s never going to be a power hitter, so it’ll be interesting to see what adjustments he makes. Leaning into his existing skill set and learning from Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson could be a model. Simpson’s ground ball rate is just under 60%, but he’s making a much bigger impact at the plate. Despite average exit velocities and hard-hit rates well below league average and no home runs yet in 2026 Simpson has earned time as Tampa Bay’s leadoff man and helped fuel their red-hot start.
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