Is it time for the Phillies to promote Justin Crawford?

Through their first 18 games, the Phillies have had their share of issues, notably with their offense and their search to find a consistent closer.

However, their glaring concern has been in center field.

Brandon Marsh was the subject of trade rumors all offseason, and Johan Rojas was expected to reach another level in spring training, but it didn’t materialize. Their center field situation took another turn when Marsh, who was mired in a 0-for-31 slump, tweaked his right knee and is listed as day-to-day.

May is around the corner, and a month of the season will be in the books. If the Phillies are still scuffling, it could be time for some moves.

Will it be Marsh, Rojas, Crawford, or maybe another center field via a trade?

Center of Attention ... Through the Ironpigs’ first 16 games, the left-handed hitting Crawford was hitting .290 with 20 hits and eight runs scored. Mainly hitting leadoff and also in the two hole, Crawford had zero homers with seven RBIs and seven stolen bases.

The stats might not merit an instant call-up, but with Crawford, it’s about his potential. He’s 21, and definitely needs some more at-bats and be locked into the leadoff spot. An All-Star call-up would probably be more realistic.

Last season, Crawford hit .301 in 70 games at high-A Jersey Shore with 54 runs scored, 27 stolen bases, 21 walks, 64 strikeouts, six homers and 35 RBIs in 317 at-bats. He continued his run at Reading, where he hit .333 in 40 games with 25 runs, 15 stolen bases, 55 hits, three homers, 26 RBIs, 11 walks and 26 strikeouts in 165 at-bats.

Crawford caught everyone’s eye when he hit .344 at Clearwater the year earlier with 40 stolen bases, 51 runs, 95 hits, 25 walks, 53 strikeouts, 16 doubles, and a .399 OBP in 69 games.

Overall through Thursday’s game, Crawford’s most prevalent numbers are his .314 batting average, 166 runs, 137 RBIs, 106 steals (only 22 caught stealing) and an .805 OPS in 933 official at-bats.

Remember, he’s only 21 and has played a literal handful of games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

However, Crawford’s tools make him an intriguing watch this season and in the near future.

Pick Up the Phone ... If Marsh or Rojas don’t work out, the Phils could delve into the trade market with reportedly the top picks being Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and the Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar to man the middle of the outfield.

Robert Jr. has been a hot trade topic since the offseason, and at 27, he would be a good fit. Due to a hip flexor, Robert Jr. appeared in only 100 games last season and hit .224 with 23 steals, but he clubbed 38 homers with 80 RBIs and 20 steals in 2023.

He is off to a slow start this season, and may be purchased on the cheap.

Nootbaar, also 27, has had a pedestrian career over five years with a .248 average. Yet, he has a high walk ratio, and had double-digit homer totals (12 last season) over his first four years. He is off to his best start this year with a .268 average and three homers in his first 18 games.

Fast Starts ... Ex-Phillies Dick Ruthven and Pete Incaviglia are among a horde of former top picks who took a fast track to the majors.

Ruthven was the top pick of the Twins in the 1972 draft, but he refused to sign with them. The Phils selected him in the secondary phase of the draft in January 1973.

Ruthven made his debut for the Phils on April 17, and he finished the 1973 season with a 6-9 record and a 4.21 ERA.

Incaviglia was chosen eighth overall by the Expos in the 1985 draft after he hit 48 homers for Oklahoma State. However, Incaviglia stated that he didn’t want to play in the minor leagues, and he held out until Nov. 2 with Montreal. That was predicated upon the Expos trading him to the Rangers.

Other more notable players who made the jump were Bob Horner (Braves), and David Clyde (Rangers).

Horner was selected by the Braves as the top pick overall in the June 1978 draft, and he was a highly touted, can’t-miss prospect from Arizona State.

At age 20 and 10 days later, Horner was the Braves’ starting third baseman. Horner hit .266 with 23 homers and 63 RBIs in 89 games, and he went on to be the National League Rookie-of-the-Year.

Clyde was chosen by the Rangers at the top overall pick in June 1973, and he made his debut on June 27. At 18, Clyde was the youngest player to make their debut since the draft was initiated. He had an 18-0 record with a ridiculous 0.18 ERA in his senior year of high school in Texas.

In his debut, Clyde struck out eight and walked seven in five innings. Clyde was 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 18 starts.

Trivia Time ... Who was the last Phillies rookie to steal 20 or more bases in a season? Don’t look, answer below.

Faulty Five ... Over the last five years from April 14, 2020 to April 14, 2025, Colorado had the lowest winning percentage (291-431, .403) among all teams.

Among the remaining teams with the lowest winning percentage in the bottom five were Washington (294-428, .407), Pittsburgh (299-425. 413), Oakland/ Sacramento (307-417, .424), and Kansas City (315-409. 435).

Surprisingly, Kansas City was a playoff team last year, and Pittsburgh was 76-86.

Wild, Wild West ... On April 12, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres were the only teams with 10 or more wins. This was the first time in the divisional era since 1969 that the only three teams with 10-plus wins were in the same division. The Padres were the first team to reach 10 wins.

Like A Prayer ... After Thursday, the Padres were first in the National League in batting average (.274) and second in ERA (2.56). Fernando Tatis is off to a MVP season, as he is third in hitting (.348), tied for first in homers (six), sixth in OBP (.425), and tied for fifth in hits (24).

Ex-Phil Nick Pivetta has had a stellar start with a 3-1 record and a 1.57 ERA. Ex-Yank Michael King has a 3-0 mark with a 2.42 ERA.

In 1998, the Padres were 98-64 and were in first place the entire season. They were swept by the Yankees in the World Series. Ex-Phillie Andy Ashby had his best season in the majors with a 17-9, 3.34 ERA.

Scrapbook ... Each column, I’ll look back at a former high school standout who extended their career.

Former Pleasant Valley pitcher Jeremy Gigliotti was drafted by the Padres in the 19th round of the 2011 draft from East Stroudsburg University.

Gigliotti began his career for the Class A Eugene Emeralds – a former Phillies’ minor-league site – and worked his way to Class AA San Antonio through two seasons. During that time, he compiled a 5-4 record with a 3.63 ERA over 52 innings in 41 games.

The following season, Gigliotti landed with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League where he had an 0-0 mark with a 5.79 ERA in four games, his last in the big leagues.

During his senior season at East Stroudsburg, the left-hander was 6-3 with a 1.04 ERA over 12 games (10 starts) and struck out 80 in 69 innings with seven complete games. He led Division II with 4.57 hits per nine innings and gained consensus All-American honors. Gigliotti also was the highest drafted player in ESU history.

Over his four years at ESU, Gigliotti was 18-11 with a 3.31 ERA in 44 games (39 starts) with 238 strikeouts in 217.2 innings and 11 complete games.

Trivia Answer ... Jimmy Rollins swiped 21 in 2000 and hit leadoff.

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