Matt Higgins
A top Philadelphia Phillies prospect suffered an injury scare after colliding with his Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs teammate in Thursday night’s game.
Left fielder Justin Crawford, who MLB Pipeline ranks as Philadelphia’s No. 3 prospect, was coming in to make a play on a fly ball when third baseman Otto Kemp ran into him, with Crawford’s face absorbing the full impact of Kemp’s shoulder.
Justin Crawford is out of the game for Lehigh Valley after this collision with Otto Kemp. Might have lost a tooth on that one. pic.twitter.com/cWmVHz6VPq
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) September 4, 2025
Crawford had to leave the game.
Fortunately for Crawford and the Phillies, the 2022 first-round pick avoided serious injury.
“Phillies believe Crawford avoided major injury after taking a shoulder to the face last night, although he has a few broken teeth. Scary moment,” reports The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.
Phillies believe Crawford avoided major injury after taking a shoulder to the face last night, although he has a few broken teeth. Scary moment. https://t.co/rFCm8HpZv7
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 5, 2025
When Will Phillies Promote Crawford?
Crawford, the son of four-time MLB All-Star Carl Crawford, is the 66th-ranked prospect in baseball. In 112 Triple-A games this season, he’s hitting .334 with an .863 OPS, four triples, seven home runs, 23 doubles and 46 stolen bases.
The Phillies considered calling up Crawford last month before outfielder Max Kepler started swinging the bat better. Philadelphia won’t promote Crawford unless he plays every day, and with the corner outfield platoon manager Rob Thomson is currently employing, there’s no room for the 21-year-old.
Even though he most likely won’t play at Citizens Bank Park before season’s end, he should be patrolling left field for the Phillies full-time in 2026 if everything goes according to plan.
While Crawford sports a high average and OPS, there are concerns about his power as he hits the ball on the ground 59.4% of the time, compared to a 17.7% fly ball rate.
However, he’s still young and has time to fill out his 6-foot-2, 188-pound frame.
