J. P. Crawford is one of the most popular and richest Baseball Player who was born on January 11, 1995 in Lakewood, Lakewood, United States. After growing up in Lakewood, California, Crawford attended Lakewood High School, where he achieved recognition for his athletic performance; Crawford also was considered one of the nation’s best teenage baseball players. The 16th pick overall in the 2013 MLB draft, Crawford began his career with the Philadelphia Phillies as an exceptional defensive infielder and was considered the organization’s top prospect for much of his rise through their minor league system. He was promoted to the major league ball club, in 2017, playing at his natural position and third base. Prior to the 2019 season, Crawford was traded to the Mariners.
In 2015, Crawford’s season was cut short by his first significant injury—a torn ligament in his left thumb. Playing just 104 games, between Clearwater and the Double-A Reading Phils, he finished his season with a .288 BA, six home runs, 42 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Crawford kept up his efforts to develop his power numbers in 2016 but by early 2017, with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Crawford scrambled to produce hits, batting just .175 with one home run at the end of May. Over his next 60 games Crawford returned to regular form, posting a .272 BA and a career high 12 home runs. With the Phillies’ shortstop position firmly entrenched by Freddy Galvis, Crawford began starting at third base on August 20 in preparation of sharing time with Maikel Franco, who struggled throughout his fourth season in the majors.
Freddy Galvis was traded to the San Diego Padres early in the 2017 offseason, securing Crawford’s position as the Phillies’ Opening Day shortstop for 2018. The team, under their new manager Gabe Kapler, focused on branding their roster with players–including Crawford in his larger role–who could “control the strike zone” and post high on-base percentages (OBP). In his first 20 games, Crawford struggled at the plate–batting .190–and defensively, committing five errors in that stretch. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list (DL) on April 29 after suffering a strained right forearm. He returned to the roster on June 6, sharing starts at third base with Franco. In a game with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 19, however, Crawford was hit by a pitch, breaking his left hand and returning him to the DL. After rehabbing, he struggled to find consistent playing time for the remainder of the season, limiting him to just six starts; he finished the season batting .214 with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
In 2011, during Crawford’s junior year, he was evaluated by Marti Wolever, the assistant general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. The circumstances of Crawford’s discovery by the Phillies are inadvertent; by Wolever’s account, he first watched the shortstop while scouting another Lakewood prospect, pitcher Shane Watson, whom the Phillies selected with their first-round draft pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Wolever stated in 2012 “I thought he [Crawford] was one of the best players we saw last year”, and anticipated that the prospect would be ready for the major leagues in three or four years. The Phillies selected Crawford in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft, 16th overall, and he signed his first professional baseball contract on June 18, worth $2.30 million.
In 2009, Crawford began attending Lakewood High School. The school’s head baseball coach Spud O’Neil recalled Crawford “was 6–2 and skinny as a rail” but recognized his flair defensively, and immediately accommodated the freshman by opening a spot at shortstop—Crawford’s natural position. Crawford posted several team records; by the end of his senior year, he led in career hits (179), runs scored (162), stolen bases (73) and walks (72). His talents drew the attention of the University of Southern California (USC) which offered Crawford an athletic scholarship to attend and play college baseball for the Trojans. As anticipated, however, Crawford declined the offer and elected to partake in the 2013 MLB draft.
The Phillies had high expectations for Crawford—expectations significantly profound that the organization envisioned the prospect as the eventual long-term replacement for former MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Crawford made his first appearance as a professional ballplayer with the Gulf Coast Phillies of the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in Clearwater, Florida. Once the regular season began, he adjusted well to professional baseball and behind the plate; in 39 games with the GCL Phillies, Crawford led the league in both batting average (.345) and on-base percentage (.443), earning him a promotion to the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws. Returning to Lakewood in 2014, attention was focused on Crawford for his improved plate discipline, as he nearly finished the season, shared with a promotion to the Clearwater Threshers, with a 1-to-1 strikeout-walk ratio. Crawford became the fixture of the Phillies’ farm system, the team’s number one prospect according to Baseball America for the rest of his ascent through the minor leagues.
