Philadelphia Phillies Prospect May Follow Father’s Footsteps As Stolen Base King

The Philadelphia Phillies star prospect looks to have similar strengths to his father, who was in MLB for 15 years.

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; National League Futures designated hitter Justin Crawford (13) of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI-sacrifice fly against the American League Futures during the second inning of the All Star-Futures Game at T-Mobile Park. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are not known for their farm system, but they do have a handful of very intriguing players waiting for their chance to break through.

With the season fast approaching, just about three weeks until Spring Training, publications have been releasing their Top 100 prospects lists.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel took it a step further by also delving into the next 100 prospects on his rankings.

The Phillies had three players make McDaniel's top 100 list: shortstop Aidan Miller at No. 13, right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter at No. 21 and trade deadline acquisition Moises Chace at No. 90.

Philadelphia then had two players come up in the next 100, and one received an interesting designation as well.

Outfielder Justin Crawford was named the most likely of this group of players to lead the league in stolen bases.

"Yep, the son of Carl Crawford is really fast and really good at stealing bases. His scouting report is a little tricky because he has some raw power but doesn't lift the ball and has incredible bat-to-ball ability, but he chases out of the zone far too much," said McDaniel.

Anyone who watched his father play would not be shocked to know that this is Crawford's strength.

Carl, now 43, spent 15 years in MLB. He made four All-Star teams while with the Tampa Bay Rays. He also led the AL in stolen bases four times.

If son can turn out like father, it would be a huge win for the Phillies.

Their Crawford has had a very promising start to his career, even if the power is not developing much. He has posted a career slash line of .316/.371/.442 slash line with 99 stolen bases in 213 career games.

The 21-year-old was a first round pick back in 2022 out of high school and it looks like he could be the eventual answer to Philadelphia's weakness in center field.

Joining Crawford in the expanded rankings was catcher Eduardo Tait at No. 188. McDaniel is much lower on these two than the MLB Pipeline, which has them both within the Top 100.

Tait is a rising catching prospect that has drawn comparisons to Phillies legend Carlos Ruiz, given that they were both international signings out of Panama.

The 18-year-old had a fast start to his professional career and maintained it last season.

Over his first 123 games, he has posted a .313/.371/.497 slash line with 14 home runs. He projects more as an offensive-forward catcher than a defensive ace, but he should still be plenty serviceable behind the plate.

Even if Crawford or Tait weren't within the first 100 prospects mentioned in these rankings, it still remains clear that they have plenty to bring to the table as intriguing players.