Rookie Justin Crawford shows exciting potential in first taste of Philly, big leagues

PHILADELPHIA — On the eve of his major-league debut with the Phillies, rookie Justin Crawford made a stop on Broad Street, just under a mile away from Citizens Bank Park. Since he’ll now be calling Philadelphia home, it only made sense to get a cheesesteak for the very first time. The outfielder took his mother, Amy, to Skinny Joey’s to get the local favorite.

The outfielder enjoyed a sandwich loaded up with onions, peppers and mushrooms. But when Amy, a vegan, tried to order, she ran into some difficulties at the South Philly establishment.

“She asked them for a Philly cheesesteak with no meat,” Crawford said with a smile, “and they looked at her absolutely crazy.”

After his initial taste of Philadelphia, Crawford reported for his first Opening Day on Thursday. Hours before the game, he walked barefoot on the outfield grass as part of his usual pregame routine that allows him to “feel the heartbeat of the stadium.” During introductions, he received a warm reception from the announced sellout crowd of 44,610. And once the action started against the Texas Rangers, Crawford showed off the hit tool that made him such an intriguing prospect with a 2-for-4 performance and a run scored in a 5-3 Phillies win.

Not a bad way to kick off a career.

“Great start,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He got a couple of hits, and they paid attention to him on the bases. So even if he doesn’t get a stolen base, he creates some havoc just that way.”

Crawford, 22, will play center field and bat at the bottom of the order this season, but he’ll be at the forefront of much discussion. He’s compelling for two key reasons: his youth and his unconventional style of play. He’s the youngest Phillies position player to make his major-league debut in an Opening Day start since Richie Ashburn in 1948, and he’s the first rookie lined up for regular playing time on the club since Bryson Stott in 2022.

For an older core that contains a few all-or-nothing power hitters, Crawford could change up the mix with his speed and throwback bat-to-ball approach.

“He can really change the lineup,” leadoff hitter Trea Turner said, “being in that nine hole and getting on base and just doing what he does best: finding hits and running the bases really well. So we saw that a little bit today. I thought his at-bats looked great and didn’t feel like the moment was too big or anything like that.”

The left-handed-hitting Crawford stepped up to the plate for his first career plate appearance against right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in the bottom of the second inning and got the tough part right out of the way. With his hands held high in his slightly crouched stance, the 6-foot-2 outfielder went down for a 94 mph fastball at the bottom of the zone and snuck it through the middle for hit No. 1.

Two innings later, he grounded a 1-1 splitter into center field for another single. Turner singled behind him, and they both later scored on a three-run opposite-field home run by Alec Bohm. It was a prime example of Crawford setting the table for the bigger bats from down below.

“If one of us gets on, both of us get on, that’s a big deal for us,” Turner said.

It wasn’t all perfect for Crawford in his debut. He lined out in the sixth, then popped out with the bases loaded in the eighth; he admitted he might have been a bit too overanxious for that final RBI opportunity and chased a pitch out of the zone. But overall, this peak at Crawford was a huge positive for the Phillies.

There will certainly still be questions and a lot to prove over the season. Crawford hit .334 in Triple-A in 2025, but his tendency to hit the ball on the ground at an extreme rate has led many to wonder if those results would translate at the big-league level. He’s not going to hit for power, so success would have to come through well-placed base hits and tough plate appearances. Crawford’s debut showed what it would look like if he could really make this work.

To Phillies utility man Otto Kemp, it reminded him of what he got to witness as Crawford’s teammate in the minor leagues.

“It’s fun to see him be himself,” Kemp said. “I didn’t see any jitters in the kid. It’s cool to see him just go right from the get-go. It’s what I’ve seen for the last couple years. And it’s special to see him do that Game 1. I know that can take some people a little bit of time, but I think he’s going to take the league by storm.”

Crawford had about 40 family members in attendance, including his father, Carl, a former major-league All-Star. He said his mom, dad and grandmothers would probably be competing to keep the ball from his first hit. Despite all the fanfare, Crawford tried to treat Thursday like any other gameday. But there’s no denying that his afternoon was something memorable.