By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor
Just days after being promoted to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford got some impressive national praise Tuesday.
ESPN's Keith Law made his first update to his top 25 prospects list since Spring Training Tuesday, and Crawford was elevated from the No. 4 spot prior to the season to the No. 2 spot in the updated countdown.
Crawford has continued to control the strike zone at an unusual level for his age — he'll play the entire season at 21 — and earned a promotion to Triple-A last week, even though his average was just .265 for Reading. He's still an outstanding defensive shortstop with great instincts, though now that he's at a higher level, I'd like to see him get a little more aggressive when ahead in the count because he has good bat speed and a little more power than you'd expect from a middle infielder.
In three games at the Triple-A level, Crawford is batting .250 with two hits and three walks. As Law noted, Crawford was hitting .265 with three home runs and 30 walks prior to his promotion.
Washington Nationals starting pitching prospect Lucas Giolito was the only prospect ranked higher than Crawford on the countdown.