Feb 25, 2025; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Justin Crawford (80) runs home to score against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Justin Crawford is a throwback to a different era of baseball.
He likes to play the game with speed and contact. He hates striking out. He wants to beat you with his legs as much as with his bat.
Heck, he's the son of former All-Star Carl Crawford, who played a similar style, so why should anyone expect any different?
There's a belief that he needs to drive the ball more. That he hits the ball on the ground too much. And even though he's hit .321 in two minor league seasons in the Phillies system, and gotten on base at an excellent .374 clip, his 65% ground ball rate is a bit perplexing.
You can't live at that level in the majors - usually. You need to get the ball in the air with more regularity - usually.
But that's because the game is what it is in 2025. It was just 15-20 years ago where contact hitters at the top of the lineup were coveted. Crawford is that already. The Phillies want him to drive the ball more, and feel he's on that path, but he likely needs one more season of seasoning before he can test his skills at the major league level.
Nevertheless, he had an opportunity to spend a few weeks in camp with the big club as a non-roster invitee and he took advantage of the time to absorb the guidance of a couple guys - Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos.
"Those two guys were really cool to me," Crawford said. "Marsh, the first day, really took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. And Casty, just being able to pick his brain. He's been doing it for a long time. Just to have the opportunity to be around them and just pick their brains is really, really cool."
Castellanos tends to take pride in being that guy for young outfielders. Two years ago, he was that guy for Johan Rojas. After his major league debut, Rojas reflected back on the assistance Castellanos provided him as a young player trying to make it to the Big Leagues.
“I respect him a lot,” Rojas said through an interpreter at the time. “In Spring Training we talked almost every day. He was really guiding me through (that time).”
So it's no surprise that Crawford had gravitated toward him as well.
And it was also no surprise that Crawford was the most noticeable offensive player in the Spring Breakout game on Friday, won by the Phillies prospects, 5-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
Crawford used his speed to beat out an infield single and then steal second base. Later, he combined that speed and a little pop to drive a ball of the left centerfield wall and legged out a triple. He would later score on a wild pitch.
Justin Crawford triple‼️ pic.twitter.com/LVRGEdNb93
"[We were] fortunate enough to get this opportunity to come out and just kind of try to display our game and hopefully, one day, you know, you keep chipping away, [you] could get there."
It wasn't until yesterday that Aidan Miller found out he was playing both shortstop and third base in the Spring Breakout game.
The Phillies told him he would play the first half of the game at short and the second half of the game at third.
He had three difficult ground balls hit to him - two at short in the hole and a third slow roller down the line at third. Miller showed off his athleticism getting to each ball and making the throw across the diamond to get the batter at first base.
"I did some early work today at third base," Miller said. "I played third base in high school, so it was an easy transition back over there. You know, I'm an athlete and I think I'm a utility player so I can play anywhere and feel comfortable anywhere."
Miller is far more than a utility player. He's arguably the Phillies best position player prospect since Chase Utley, which is saying a lot. But by utility, he means that he's willing to play anywhere.
And if one game was an indicator, he showed there were a couple positions the Phillies can be confident he will succeed.
It was an unceremonious trade at the time, but when the Phillies sent Gregory Soto to Baltimore at the trade deadline last season, they acquired two minor league pitchers - Seth Johnson and Moises Chace.
Johnson made his major league debut with a forgettable start as one of the cadre of guys the Phillies tried to use to plug the leak in the No. 5 star spot in the rotation last year.
But Chace was the real gem of the trade, and if he continues to track the way he's been going, he could become a steal in the future.
Chace started the game, and only pitched one inning, but it was an impressive one.
He threw 14 pitches, 10 for strikes, struck out two and got the other batter to weakly foul out to first base.
His fastball was electric, and he used the new pitch the Phillies have been teaching him - a cutter - to strike out Sammy Siani for the final out of the first inning.
3 up, 3 down with 2Ks for Moisés Chace 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dgflcRooDd
Chace said he grew up idolizing Jose Fernandez, the late Miami Marlins pitcher who was the 2013 rookie of the year.
He aways liked the way Fernandez attacked the strike zone and wants to ultimately pitch the same way, just with his own style.
"I like the speed and the deceptiveness of the pitch," Chace said through an interpreter about the cutter, a pitch the Phillies feel can make him a quality major leaguer. "I really enjoy the way they manage pitchers and the workload. It's very organized. I like their approach [with me]."
