Jonathon

Crawford

Crawford is a little smaller than teams prefer their right-handers, but he’s been durable so far and he has a nice fastball-slider combination. His changeup will determine whether he sticks as a starter. If it fails to come along, he might turn out to be a late-game reliever instead.

Baseball America’s Jim Callis reports that Crawford will receive $2.0017 million, matching the slot value for the No. 20 pick. Some feel Crawford might wind up in the bullpen, but he can run his fastball up to 96 mph and he has flashed promise with his slider.

Crawford scattered six hits and two walks, allowing three runs against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Crawford has struck out eight batters in his last four starters over 22 2/3 innings. He came from a big college program (Florida), and has a mid-90s fastball and a promising slider, so it is somewhat surprising that he has not performed better in the Low-A Midwest League.

Crawford kept the Lansing Lugnuts to just one single, but the 22-year old righty continues to struggle with his control as he has put up a 3.9 BB/9 rate. The Tigers have a history of turning big righties who throw hard and have control problems into frontline starters, but Crawford, who starred at the University of Florida, has not developed as quickly as they would have liked. If his control does not improve, he could turn into a potential closer.

Crawford was the 20th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft and has registered a promising 2.73 ERA and 1.176 WHIP in 142 career minor league innings (all below Double-A). The 23-year-old right-hander was probably the highest-upside arm in the Tigers’ farm system. It’s a nice get for the rebuilding Reds.