Phillies' faith in J.P. Crawford unwavering amid prospect's first big slump

ALLENTOWN — J.P. Crawford, three weeks into the worst slump of his career, boarded a bus last week with his triple-A teammates. They were bound for Columbus, Ohio. Crawford searched his phone for a distraction during the 7-hour ride.

He had an idea. The 2013 first-round pick found video of better days. He analyzed swings from 2015, when he split the season between Clearwater and Reading, and solidified his status as one of the game's better prospects.

"I was just trying to figure it out," Crawford said. " 'What am I doing wrong? Something doesn't feel right. It's feeling uncomfortable.' "

He fixated on his hands, which were lowered when he arrived at triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2016. He wanted to revert to the old swing. Crawford pitched the idea to hitting coach Sal Rende and Andy Tracy, the Phillies' minor-league hitting coordinator. Sure, they said, whatever makes you comfortable.

The shortstop craved a solution.

Crawford mustered five hits in his first 60 plate appearances over 15 games. After his bus enlightenment, he collected six in his next six games. Maybe it was something. Maybe not. It's still a struggle for the 22-year-old shortstop, who has not hit for power in his 110 career games at triple A. His trademark plate discipline has suffered in 2017, with a sharp spike in his strikeout rate.

And none of this has dissuaded the Phillies from believing in Crawford.

"More than anything, I just trust the guy," said Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development. "I trust his ability. I trust the person. He's strong enough to weather it. Hopefully, the last three or four days in April he built some momentum for May. Because he will come out of this a much better player. He will have weathered a storm he hadn't had to face before."

IronPigs manager Dusty Wathan echoed that message — one the Phillies have stressed to Crawford during his trials. This, Wathan said, is part of the development process.

"I've been impressed with the way he's handled himself through it," Wathan said. "I mean, it was a rough month, to be honest. No one wants to go through that. For a guy his age, he didn't show it at all. He handled it like a veteran. It's great. You don't want these guys to fail, but they're going to fail eventually. So let's get that down here."

It's an unusual dynamic. The Phillies do not want Crawford to slip. But, when he plays in the majors, he is bound to encounter a prolonged slide. It happens to every player. That, Jordan said, is why he would rather his best young talents experience it in the minors so they know how to escape it later.

He's still there now. Without improvements in May, the current issues could mature to more than a slump.

"His at-bats have been a lot better," Wathan said.

Crawford, in Tuesday night's 11-7 win, worked the count in his favor twice in his first two plate appearances. He held his hands high, behind his head, as the pitcher delivered. He was late on a 3-1 pitch and popped it to the shortstop in the first inning. He took four pitches with the bases loaded in the second inning to score a run. Later, he tapped a first-pitch grounder to short. Then he meekly flied out to center.

His on-base percentage has dipped to .260, with his slugging percentage at .181. He has two extra-base hits this season.

Crawford said opposing teams have attacked him away, with both fastballs and breaking balls. He did not make the adjustment in April.

"Yeah, it was tough," Crawford said Tuesday. "I was just trying to get that feel back. I was trying to get back in the season mode and go on my plan. This last week has been good for me. I think I found it. I feel good at the plate. My confidence is there. Everything is there again. So I'll just try to stick with that."

It's not that Crawford is behind, in the bigger picture. He is the youngest player on the IronPigs roster and one of the youngest in the International League.

There are six players younger than Crawford who have appeared in a major-league game this season. Two are Rule 5 picks on the tanking San Diego Padres. Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara, Giants third baseman Christian Arroyo and Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger are considered top prospects. Royals second baseman Raul Mondesi started the season in the majors and has since returned to triple A.

Crawford is touted because evaluators see a player whose floor is high. He plays a premium position well and, until he reached triple A, displayed proficient on-base skills. He ranked high on prospect lists despite a ceiling not as high as his contemporaries.

There is time to justify the hype.

"He's going to play in the big leagues," Jordan said. "He's going to be a good big-league player. This is something he hasn't gone through before now. So, hopefully, he figured out some things about himself."