The 2022 MLB Draft has three high school bats that are the sons of former big league outfielders. Druw Jones, son of Andruw Jones, and Jackson Holliday, the son of Matt Holliday, are both expected to be top-of-the-first-round selections.
Likely joining them early in the first round of the draft will be Justin Crawford, the son of former Rays/Reds Sox/Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford. Justin Crawford has emerged as one of the most dynamic high school talents in the class, thrilling scouts with his hit tool and blazing speed.
“Having [Carl Crawford] as a father prepares me for things not everyone can prepare for,” Crawford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Just growing up in a big league clubhouse and seeing how things work and knowing he’s gone through the same things I’m going through has helped make the process a lot easier.
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The baseball world is likely familiar with Carl Crawford, who was a four-time All-Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and one of the best base-stealers in the sport. But how familiar is everyone with Justin Crawford?
The Sporting News breaks down everything you need to know about Justin Crawford.
Similarities to dad
Heading into the 1999 MLB Draft, Carl Crawford was considered a dynamic talent, but also a player who still had some refining to do. Here's what Baseball America wrote about him:
OF Carl Crawford is one of the two or three best athletes in the draft. He has a rare package of speed and strength and has committed to Nebraska as an option quarterback. In tryouts for scouts, he hit a number of mammoth home runs. The downside to Crawford is that his skills are raw--and draft history is full of multi-tooled athletes with limited baseball instincts who don't pan out. He was often overmatched at the plate by ordinary high school pitching. He'll be a first-round pick, but maybe the riskiest one.
Carl Crawford wound up being drafted 52nd overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and was in the big leagues three years later.
He spent 15 years in the majors, and in 1,716 games, he slashed .290/.330/.435 with 136 home runs and 480 stolen bases. Since he debuted, only Juan Pierre (561) and Jose Reyes (517) have more steals.
His profile turned out to be a player with a standout hit tool, elite speed and average power. He hit and threw left-handed, was 6-2, 230 pounds and was considered a standout defensive outfielder, though not one with a considerably strong arm.
Now, here's some of what Baseball America has written about Justin Crawford:
In 1999, Carl Crawford was one of the two or three best athletes in the draft class, with a special combination of speed and strength. Several decades later, his son, Justin Crawford, is one of the most impressive athletes in the 2022 draft class. Crawford is much leaner than his father at the same time, with a highly projectable and lanky, 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame that has plenty of room for more strength gains in the future. Crawford showed solid bat-to-ball skills last summer over the showcase circuit, with a slappy approach in games, but sneaky raw power in batting practice given his strength at the time. Scouts noted that Crawford added more muscle throughout the fall and this spring, and he’s started driving the ball with more authority. Crawford has contact skills and will make two-strike adjustments by widening his stance at the plate, but his swing can get lengthy at times, and he’ll need to refine his bat path a bit at the next level. Power should be the last part of his game to develop, and how much he has in the future will depend on how much strength he can add to his frame. Even if he’s never a big power hitter, he should be able to find plenty of extra-base hits by driving balls into the gaps and using his speed on the bases. The industry raved about his performance this spring and he continued to show premium tools. He’s one of the best runners in the class and regularly turns in 70-grade run times, getting out of the box quickly from the left side of the plate and covering tons of ground when underway with long, graceful, loping strides. That speed should allow him to stick in center field, where he has a chance to be an impact defender at the position.
For both father and son, speed is perhaps their best asset, though they both grade out as above-average based on their hit tools as well. Justin Crawford, also a left-handed hitter and thrower, should be able to stick in center field though, while his dad was primarily a left fielder.
Justin Crawford is an outfielder at Bishop Gorman High School and has had a standout senior year. According to MaxPreps, he has posted a 1.379 OPS (.503/.562/.816 slash line ) with five home runs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases.
LSU commit
Carl Crawford was committed to take his football talents to Nebraska before he signed with the Devil Rays. His son currently holds a collegiate offer to play baseball at the next level, should he decide not to sign with a team.
Justin Crawford was initially committed to play baseball at Arizona. However, when Jay Johnson was hired to become the new head coach at LSU, Justin Crawford flipped his commitment to join the Tigers.
"It was really a no-brainer for me," Justin Crawford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "[Louisiana State] is a top program, and Coach Johnson is an amazing coach."
Other MLB relative
Justin Crawford has his dad as one former big leaguer, but if drafted and signed, he'd be joining the professional ranks alongside an active MLB relative.
According to ESPN, Carl Crawford learned back in 2013 ahead of the MLB draft that he had a cousin in the draft: J.P. Crawford. He would be selected 16th overall by the Phillies that year, and ascended the MLB prospect rankings, at one point being rated the fifth-best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
Fast-forward to 2022, and J.P. Crawford is the starting shortstop for the Mariners and is in the midst of a career year. He owns a .266/.345/.382 slash line with five home runs and three stolen bases in 80 games. He is in his fourth season with the Mariners after he was traded from Philadelphia in 2018 in a deal that sent Jean Segura to the Phillies.
