Highly regarded Philadelphia Phillies prospect Justin Crawford is among 27 players who have been invited as non-roster participants to the team’s Major League Spring Training camp, the club announced Friday.
Crawford, who recently turned 22, played last season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He recorded a .334 batting average along with 23 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 47 RBIs, 46 stolen bases and an .863 OPS.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Crawford: “Crawford’s going to get every chance to play.” Thomson also added: “From everybody I’ve talked to, the makeup is really good, and the intangibles are really good. So if he makes the club, we’re going to let him go, and we’re going to let him play. And, hopefully, he has some success — and we think he’s going to.”
The team has indicated its intention for Crawford to be considered for an everyday center field role in the upcoming season.
Andrew Painter—another top prospect expected to compete for a roster spot—was not listed among non-roster invitees because he was previously added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster earlier in the offseason.
Other notable invitees include infield prospects Aidan Miller and Aroon Escobar. Miller was selected 27th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft and spent most of last year at Double-A Reading before being promoted to Lehigh Valley in September. The 21-year-old has played exclusively at shortstop during his minor league career.
Escobar turned 21 on January 1 and finished last season hitting .270 with 15 home runs and 24 stolen bases across three minor league levels. Most of his games were split between Single-A Clearwater and High-A Jersey Shore before ending the year at Reading. While primarily a second baseman, Escobar has also appeared at shortstop and third base.
The full list of non-roster invitees includes five catchers (Kehden Hettiger, Mark Kolozsvary, Paul McIntosh, René Pinto, Caleb Ricketts), eight infielders (Keaton Anthony, Christian Cairo, Carson DeMartini, Aroon Escobar, Aidan Miller, Liover Peguero, Bryan Rincon, José RodrÃguez), four outfielders (Dylan Campbell, Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Dante Nori), one utility player (Felix Reyes), five right-handed pitchers (Andrew Bechtold, Jonathan Hernández, Michael Mercado, Trevor Richards, Bryse Wilson) and four left-handed pitchers (Génesis Cabrera, Tucker Davidson, Tim Mayza, Andrew Walling).
