Rookie Justin Crawford to start in center field for Phillies
Rookie Justin Crawfordthe son of ex-major leaguer Carl Crawfordwould be the beginning center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies as this season will get underway Thursday.
After impressing in spring coaching, Crawford, who was ESPN’s No. 69 MLB prospect for 2026, was named to the Opening Day roster on Wednesday.
Crawford, 22, will likely be in the lineup when the Phillies host the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, making him the staff’s youngest beginning outfielder on Opening Day since 1972 (Mike Anderson).
“I feel ready,” Crawford informed reporters earlier this week. “I’m ready to go.”
The speedy Crawford will likely be a risk on the bases and has extra contact expertise on the plate together with a strong method and solid-average uncooked energy. The seventeenth general choose in the 2022 draft hit .250 this spring with a triple (off Tarik Skubal) and three doubles in 55 at-bats. He did, nevertheless, have 12 strikeouts and solely two walks.
His father was a four-time All-Star outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays who final performed in the foremost leagues in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over 15 MLB seasons, Carl Crawford had a .290 batting common with 766 RBIs and 480 stolen bases.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
