Phillies' Justin Crawford roster news has huge Opening Day implications

The Philadelphia Phillies have made their decision about Justin Crawford.

The speedy outfielder, and the son of former MLB star Carl Crawford, is coming to Opening Day with the Phillies.

Crawford will be on the Opening Day roster, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, who reported the news on X on Saturday morning.

It's not a guarantee, but this likely means Crawford will start in centerfield for the Phillies all season long.

The 22-year old was a first-round pick in 2022 and now is coming to the big club for the first time.

This offseason, he was ranked the No. 53 prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline, No. 69 by ESPN, No. 75 by Baseball America and No. 98 by Baseball Prospectus.

"Yes, Justin is the son of longtime MLB outfielder Carl Crawford and is also a plus-plus runner who covers a lot of ground in the outfield, steals a lot of bags and mostly wears out the gaps as a left-handed hitter, but also hits some mistakes over the fence," McDaniel wrote in his prospect rankings for ESPN. "On the other hand, Justin plays center field and has a leaner build than his dad."

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This spring, Crawford was 10-for-41 (.244 average) with three doubles and three stolen bases.

His career-high for home runs in a minor league season is nine, so he'll be contributing more with contact, speed and defense, a lot like his dad.

The Phillies will get to see right from the start of the season just how good he is.

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