Bethlehem, PA – The 2026 season for the Philadelphia Phillies already has notable chapters written before the team has even loaded up the trucks to head down to Clearwater for Spring Training. Missing out on Bo Bichette and the notion the organization is running back the same team are the headliners, for now.
Another key chapter of the story that will dictate if this season ends in a potential parade down Broad Street for the first time since 2008 will involve some of the youngest players expected to be on the Opening Day roster.
Titled simply, “The Prospects”
Before the start of his first season in Triple-A, Crawford stood in front of his locker and made a profound statement.
“My goal is to get there tomorrow,” the outfielder said when asked about his desire to get to the bigs.
Tomorrow is getting closer for the 22-year-old.
It is evident the Phillies are banking on the speedy outfielder to patrol center field this season. After an impressive campaign as the fifth-youngest player in the International League, where he slashed .334/.411/.452 an .863 OPS with 46 stolen bases in 112 games, Crawford will be given as much runway as possible to make the big league club out of Spring Training.
If all goes according to plan, he would be the youngest centerfielder to be the deliberate choice for the starting job for Philadelphia since before the iPhone was invented.
A lot has been made of Crawford’s high ground ball rate last year and throughout his career. Last season, he hit the ball on the ground 59.4% of the time, per FanGraphs. Yet, that was his lowest rate in his career playing full-season baseball.
However, it would have led MLB last season. Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich paced the league with a 56.7% ground ball rate, with Tampa Bay’s Yandy Diaz behind him at 53.6%. But those two players do not have the speed Crawford possesses that allows the outfielder to leg out infield singles.
One American League scout said, “Not concerned about the ground ball rate at all. He needs to keep it on the ground with his skill set.”
Others have their reservations due to the increased defensive play across major league infields compared to the minors.
“Justin’s a very unique case,” Vice President and General Manager Preston Mattingly said at the Phillies Caravan event at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks Thursday night.
“People cite the groundball rate a lot, which is understandable, but I also think a player with his offensive profile would be advantageous for him to run a little higher ground ball rate. Now, with that said, we are working on different ways for him to not necessarily hit the ball in the air, but on the line a little bit more.”
Crawford, ranked 75th on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospect list, posted his highest line drive percentage in his career last year at nearly 23%. His previous watermark was 19.7% in 2024 during his time in Double-A Reading.
It appears Crawford is continuing to make some adjustments with his swing during the offseason, lowering his hands slightly.
"I told him you need to come in there and fight for a spot, and I have a feeling that you're a big leaguer," manager Rob Thomson said.
“Come in here relaxed, be yourself, and play your game. Don’t try and do something that you’re not. He’s going to hit some home runs at some point, but maybe not right yet. But we want him to get on base, steal bases, bunt, and do all the little things that he normally does. If he does that, he’s going to really help out the ball club.”
“We want him to be Justin Crawford,” Thomson said.
The power might be the last part of Crawford’s game that develops as he continues to mature. He has hit 19 career home runs in 325 minor league games. His seven last season were the second-most he’s hit in a year trailing the nine he smacked in 2024.
Yet, those little things at the bottom of a top-heavy lineup could create havoc for opposing pitchers while positioning Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper for run-producing at-bats.
Next on the docket for Crawford. Improving defensively.
“I think his next step with his speed is the defense. It’s around the edges; it’s some of the jumps, some of the first steps,” Mattingly said. “We are actively working on jumps, reads and everything that goes into centerfield defense.
It was a turbulent first season back from Tommy John surgery for Andrew Painter, one of the top pitching prospects in the sport. That was to be expected, as command usually is the last to return for a pitcher working his way back from the time-consuming procedure.
In his starts in Triple-A, Painter posted a 5.40 ERA in 106⅔ innings in 22 starts. He had 123 strikeouts to 47 walks with a 1.547 WHIP. Left-handed hitters also had good success against him, hitting. 287 with a .857 OPS.
Heading into 2026, it’s a full go for the 6-foot-7, 22-year-old who is looking to rebound.
“I think one positive from last year was he pitched a career high in innings, so I feel like we can kind of take the reins off and let him be himself,” Mattingly said.
“That was a big concern for us with the amount of time he missed; getting back to where, when he was in a position to get to the major leagues, he would not have any restrictions.”
That is a big positive for Painter, who logged 118 innings between Lehigh Valley and Clearwater.
Now without any expected pitch count after being on one to start last season to help build his arm strength and stamina up after being out of commission for nearly two full seasons, Painter has a chance to showcase why he has been so highly touted since being drafted 13th overall in 2021.
A recurring theme at times for the prized prospect was the lack of command, especially with his fastball, whether it leaked over the plate or missed outside of the zone too frequently, putting him behind in the count. Coupled with his struggles to locate his secondary pitches for swing and misses, it made it a trying campaign.
“It’s been a rollercoaster this year. There are times where I feel great, and I can’t miss the strike zone. There’s other times where I don’t know where the ball is going,” Painter said to the Athletic in early August.
“The biggest thing for Andrew that left him a little bit last year was his fastball command. To me, if he can get his fastball command to where it was pre-injury, I think we have a chance to have a special pitcher,” Mattingly said.
Painter is projected to round out the starting rotation for the Phillies, who will be without Zack Wheeler for an undetermined time. Cristopher Sánchez, who finished second in the National League Cy Young voting, will anchor the staff, followed by Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker.
Aidan Miller, perhaps, is the most exciting of the trio. With his raw power and speed playing at a premiere position, it’s easy to see why there is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2023 first-round pick.
Currently ranked as the 14th-best prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 List, the 21-year-old turned some heads over the final month-and-a-half of the season, earning a last-season call-up to Triple-A to get a taste of the pitching he will more than likely be facing this year.
The shortstop struggled at the plate in three of the first four months of the season posting paltry numbers with an OPS of .625 in April, .700 in June, and .650 in July. However, in August and September he was a man on a mission.
Over his final 36 games, he showcased his impressive combo of power and speed. He slashed .356/.434/.607 with a 1.041 OPS. He swiped 22 bases while drawing 31 walks and striking out 29 times.
His month of August was video game-esque.
In 22 games he slashed .348/.454/.629 with a 1.083 OPS. He had 31 hits with 17 going for extra bases, including 13 doubles and four home runs, while driving in 16 runs.
Miller also made big strides with his glove.
“The biggest piece for Aidan last year was he took significant jumps in the shortstop defense and the speed component,” Mattingly said of the talented shortstop.
“I think we drafted a player that we felt had a tremendous body, strength, bat speed and thought he had power potential. As we got him into the system, we realized the speed has maybe increased in a grade, a grade and a half; he almost stole 60 bases last year. I think he’s a guy around the industry that maybe he slides to third base because of his size, but to his credit, proved everyone wrong with his ability to stay at shortstop if that’s something we would choose to do.”
Miller has yet to play a game as a professional at the hot corner, spanning 211 games. However, with Turner entering just his fourth year of his 11-year deal, it appears that Miller will be blocked for at least the next few seasons.
With Alec Bohm’s future with the club more uncertain entering free agency next season, perhaps Miller will see time at third base during Spring Training and in Lehigh Valley to create a quicker path to help the big league team sooner than later.
