By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
If you ask anyone who watches the Phillies and ask them who has disappointed the most the year, most will probably say Maikel Franco or Tommy Joseph. The two haven't performed well in 2017 and Joseph's job is definitely on the hot seat with Rhys Hoskins off to a strong start to his career. As for Franco, the Phillies don't have a third base prospect in the wings to test out at the big league level, so it seems they plan to test out No. 4 prospect J.P. Crawford in that role as he mans the hot corner on Sunday evening for the Ironpigs.
Today, @jp_crawford plays his 1st pro game at a position other than SS when he starts at 3B for @IronPigs. He's hit in 13 of L14 (.351-2-8)
— Matt Provence (@PigsRadio) August 20, 2017
The Ironpigs get underway at 5:05 p.m. tonight in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Crawford's shift to third had been in the works for a few weeks now and the former No. 1 overall prospect for the Phils could see time at second base as well in order to gear up for a look in the Majors come September.
Prior to the All-Star Break, Crawford was hitting just .211, but he's really turned it on the last two months. In July, he slashed .281/.389/.635 and has followed it up with .319/.395/.542 in August thus far. He's hit 11 home runs over that span as well. Crawford's previous career-high for an entire season was 11. He's at 13 in 2017.
Overall this season, Crawford is hitting .242, but his progress over the last two months is most important as the 22-year-old prepares himself for the big league stage.
