Phillies' J.P. Crawford: Sits atop shortstop pecking order
Crawford appears to be on top of the depth chart at shortstop for the Phillies heading into spring training, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
The middle infield prospect garnered a big-league callup last September, but he spent much of his time at third base rather than his natural position. However, shortstop seems to be Crawford's for the taking now that incumbent Freddy Galvis is out of town. Even with that in mind, the 23-year-old will need to pick things up at the plate after a sluggish 2017 campaign if he wants to be relevant in single-season leagues. Last season, he batted just .243 in Triple-A and struck out over 25 percent of the time in Philadelphia. However, his extremely high walk rate gives him some value in leagues that track OBP rather than batting average, and his recent power development (20 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs at Triple-A last season) certainly adds some intrigue if it translates to the majors.
