Justin Crawford, Phillies minor league position player of the year, sets his sights high for 2025

As the No. 3 prospect in the Phillies’ farm system, a first-round pick, and the son of a former major leaguer, Justin Crawford carries the weight of high expectations.

So far, the 20-year-old outfielder has been as advertised. After a standout season that included a promotion to double-A Reading in July, Crawford added another accolade with the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies’ minor leaguer of the year.

Right-hander Eiberson Castellano was named the franchise’s minor league pitcher of the year, and both players were honored on the field Wednesday ahead of the Phillies’ series finale against the Cubs.

“It means everything,” Crawford said. “Just finally being able to kind of get recognized a little bit for being here, and all the hard work that I put in.”

Crawford said he was proudest of the way he was able to stay consistent across minor league levels this season. He led the Eastern League with a .333 batting average and was second in hits (55) and stolen bases (15) in 40 games with the double-A Fightin’ Phils.

Crawford hit more line drives this year, which had been a focus of his coming into the season. In Reading, his line-drive rate was 19.7%. The previous year in high-A, that figure had been 10.9%.

“Last year, I hit the ball on the ground a lot,” Crawford said. “This year maybe did a little more than I would have liked, but definitely got a lot better. … It’s a few different things. Getting stronger, pitch selection, and also kind of just getting more at-bats.”

Crawford was raised by a four-time All-Star father in Carl Crawford and is very familiar with stages like the one at Citizens Bank Park, but Wednesday marked Castellano’s first time on a major league field.

The pitcher from Venezuela took a big step forward in 2024 in his first season as a full-time starter. After previously pitching as a starter and a reliever for the last two seasons, Castellano made 20 starts this year between high-A Jersey Shore and double-A Reading. He posted a 3.99 ERA, and his 136 strikeouts were the most of all Phillies minor league pitchers.

“This is my first year as a starter in this organization. And being able to do that for the whole year was something just special, something unique for me,” Castellano said through a team interpreter. “And I think it’s just mainly hard work, consistent work that we’ve been doing throughout this year.”

Castellano, 23, stayed consistent with the increased workload, crediting the work he put in during the offseason to stay in shape.

“That’s something that’s going to help me going forward, and that’s something that I’ve always been focusing on, to work really hard on my physical, on my body throughout the offseason,” Castellano said.

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Castellano added that he hadn’t had the chance to meet any of the current Phillies yet. But he hopes he might run into countrymen José Alvarado and Ranger Suárez at some point.

Castellano and Crawford have taken some time off since the double-A season concluded. But Crawford will be right back at it soon, and plans to suit up for Team USA this November at the Premier12 tournament in Mexico. And his goal for 2025 is simple.

“I want to be here next year,” Crawford said.

Spencer Turnbull (right shoulder strain) is scheduled to throw a batting practice session at the IronPigs facility in Allentown on Friday.