Washington Nationals: 5 storylines to watch as Phillies make final trip to DC

J.P. Crawford’s first week in the majors

J.P. Crawford, former first-round draft pick and top prospect, was recently called up and debuted on Tuesday in New York. The rookie recorded his first major league hit in his debut, but is just 1-for-7 in his first two games.

Primarily a shortstop in the minors, Crawford has played both games at third base. Freddy Galvis is currently entrenched as the Phillies’ shortstop, and has remained there despite Crawford’s promotion.

While Galvis has been playing shortstop since Crawford’s promotion, Crawford is viewed as the shortstop of the future and is likely to eventually take over shortstop duties. Galvis saw limited action in the outfield prior to Crawford’s promotion, presumably to prepare for a position change.

Despite being a top prospect, Crawford has struggled in the upper levels of the minor leagues. This season in AAA, he hit just .243. He wasn’t much better last season, batting .250 between AA and AAA.

Crawford has been a highly regarded prospect since being drafted 16th overall in 2013, so it will be interesting to finally see what he is capable of at the big league level. He did not hit very well in the minor leagues and, while it is an extremely small sample size, he has not hit well in the majors either. How and where J.P. Crawford plays throughout the four-game series in DC will definitely be something to keep an eye on.