2. J.P. Crawford, SS
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 1/11/1995 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, MLB Philadelphia Phillies
2017 Stats: Minors: .243/.351/.405, 556 PA, 15 HR, 5 SB, 79/97 BB/K; Majors: .214/.356/.300, 87 PA, 1 SB, 16/22 BB/K
Info: For some a bit of prospect fatigue has worn in on Crawford, who was a first round selection out of high school in 2013 by the Philadelphia Phillies and has shown well enough to rank highly throughout his pro career in national rankings, listing as the top Phillies prospect for many years in a row.
Whether that pressure got to Crawford or he was disinterested or what the issue was, he was not in the right head space early in the 2017 season, and his on-field performance reflected it. He took some time off in early June to rest a groin injury and reset himself mentally, and he came back looking like he was having a lot more fun playing the game again, with a spring in his step and in his bat.
The results were evident, as he hit .280/.381/.522 with 13 home runs over his final 71 games in the minors. Crawford’s defense had even become stale and “going through the motions” for him, and he was back to one of the top defenders at shortstop in the entire minor leagues with natural shortstop instincts, plus range, and an above-average arm that should allow him to be a plus defender at the major league level.
With the stick, Crawford has always been lauded for his eye at the plate, but had never really shown home run power or stolen base ability before 2017, when he showed quite a bit more loft into his swing, but even then, it’s likely to be 15-20 home run power. He does have good bat control typically, so he could be a good average, good OBP guy with an elite glove.
Crawford will be given every chance to win the starting shortstop job for the Philadelphia Phillies this spring.
1. Sixto Sanchez, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 7/29/1998 (19)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A Lakewood BlueClaws, high-A Clearwater Threshers
2017 Stats: 18 GS, 95 IP, 3.03 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 4.8% BB, 22.4% K
Info: Signed for a mere “pittance” of $35,000 in 2015 when he impressed them as the pitcher in a tryout for another player, the Philadelphia Phillies have seen Sixto Sanchez quickly grow into one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.
Often, pitchers with big velocity at 6′ or shorter without a big frame are assumed to have future injury issue, but Sanchez does it with such ease
Often, pitchers with big velocity at 6′ or shorter without a big frame are assumed to have future injury issue, but Sanchez does it with such ease, firing out a mid-90s fastball the way most toss a ball in the backyard. He can top 100 with his fastball, which he commands extremely well even with incredible life on the pitch.
With big velocity, many assume that Sanchez should have more strikeouts, and while he’s making a conscious effort to improve his swing and miss on his secondary stuff, the fact that he can control and command his stuff so well that he’s striking out 5 times as many as he walks and he’s not appearing dominant shows how much the raw strikeout number can cloud the view of how a pitcher is getting the job done at times.
Sanchez throws a plus changeup that has excellent sink and late movement low in the zone, and he has really improved his arm deception on that pitch in the last year, making it an effective pitch against both sides of the plate. His breaker is a slider that is average as he uses it more for location than for power, but he’s worked with coaches on either spinning a hard curve or adding a hard slider to pair with his above-average current slider.
His control and command alone with his velocity gives Sanchez the chance to be among the best pitchers in all of baseball, with the comps to Pedro Martinez very easy. He should work his way into the upper minors this season, whether it’s at the very beginning or 2018 or after a quick opening in the Florida State League. Either way, the Philadelphia Phillies will want to give him another jump in his inning load to build up his ability to become a future ace.
Next: Newcomers to watch