At the young age of 19, Phillies shortstop prospect JP Crawford is already turning heads in the minor leagues. In first full professional season, Crawford is currently with Class 'A' Lakewood. It could be a little early to predict this, but we could be looking at the Phillies future shortstop here. Drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Crawford is ranked as the #3 prospect in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America.
Area scout, Demerius Pittman, and assistant general manager in charge of amateur scouting for the Phillies, Marti Wolever, knew that Crawford was going to be high on the Phillies list when they went to scout him along with Shane Watson in 2013.
"Last year, when I went to watch Watson, [Crawford] made every play possible in front, in the hole, moved runners, he just had great instincts and a feel for the game," Wolever said. "It's hard enough to see that in college players or a high school senior, but as a junior, he did all that. That's the real kid that you see out there. He's real humble, but yet very confident. He's got a pretty good makeup, and obviously the physical skills are there to be a front-line guy."
"He brings his teammates up and he's always hustling on and off the field, playing the game the right way," Pittman said. "He loves the game. He does everything he can to make his team win."
Some of you may not know this, but JP Crawford has some successful relatives. He is the cousin of outfielder Carl Crawford and his father played football at Iowa State. He also saw some time in the Canadian Football League. There's no denying the athletic background of his family, and thus far he is impressing within the Phillies system.
In four years of high school in Lakewood, CA, Crawford hit .417/.512/.596 with 38 doubles, 15 triples, 82 RBI's and 73 stolen bases over 131 games.
After being drafted, Crawford spent 39 games with the GCL Phillies and actually won the league's batting title, finishing with a .345 average to go along with eight doubles, three triples, a homer and 19 RBI. He walked 25 times and struck out 25 times in 142 at-bats.
After a late season promotion to Lakewood in 2013, Crawford played in 14 games at the Low-A level. His .984 fielding percentage was solid after have a .950 at the GCL level. Although he hit just .208, the Phillies were impressed with how he handled himself at that level.
JP is now the starting shortstop in Lakewood and according to an article on Philly.com, despite his success, he is not thinking about moving up to Clearwater at this point. Shortstop prospect, Roman Quinn, currently occupies that spot anyway. Crawford may have been drafted high, but that doesn't change his mindset about where he is either.
"I don't think about moving up," Crawford said. "I come to the ballpark and play my hardest, and if I get moved up I get moved up. It doesn't matter."
“I got drafted high but that doesn’t mean anything, we are all the same here,” he said. “I still have to prove myself.”
While he may be performing extremely well at Lakewood, the 19-year old should still find many areas to develop in during this season. Off to a hot start in the first 36 games, the Phillies farmhand is hitting an impressive .343/.432/.486 and has continued to show soft hands at his position with an above-average arm. Even though he came to spring training this season stronger, he will need to continue to work at increasing his muscle for the home run power to develop. That being said, he seems to have little issues hitting doubles and triples.
Obviously, with Roman Quinn above him in Clearwater, Crawford is likely to spend the majority of the season with Lakewood. It is unlikely that the two will find themselves on the same team. Quinn, ranked as the top position-player in the Phillies organization, is on the comeback trail from a wrist injury that caused him to miss the second half of 2013 and also a ruptured Achilles' that happened in October during running drills.
Time will tell who will be Jimmy Rollins successor, but with Freddy Galvis' major league ability in question, it could very well be JP Crawford in the coming years.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
