DUNEDIN, Fla. — Phillies first-base coach Paco Figueroa has a 5 a.m. wake-up every day in the spring.
He gets to BayCare Ballpark early to work out before others arrive. But last year, he noticed somebody wearing headphones on the turf field just outside the weight room. He couldn’t tell who it was.
“I don’t think the sun was even up,” Figueroa said.
“That just showed me his makeup and his preparation are on another level,” Figueroa said.
Crawford ripped a 390-foot double off the left-center-field wall in the Phillies’ first plate appearance of their first Grapefruit League game — a 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at TD Ballpark.
“That definitely feels good to get the first one in the first at-bat like that,” Crawford said.
It was a fun at-bat, and a tantalizing one. Crawford is the Phillies’ No. 3 prospect and the No. 53 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. The Phillies have said that Crawford needs to earn his job as the Opening Day center fielder, but it would be stunning if he isn’t in the Phils’ lineup on March 26 against the Rangers at Citizens Bank Park.
Crawford showed bunt on the first pitch of his six-pitch at-bat against Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer. He took a called strike instead.
“I was just trying to mess with the infielders, make sure they’re on their toes,” Crawford said. “I like keeping the infielders kind of close on the corners. It kind of opens up the field for me. I really wasn’t going to do it right there, but I definitely wanted them to think I was going to do it.”
It is a tactic that could help Crawford, who had a 59.4% ground-ball rate last season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. That rate is often cited by Crawford’s skeptics because they wonder if he can hit the ball on the ground that much in the big leagues and be successful.
The Phillies think he can.
Crawford drove the fifth pitch of the at-bat just right of the right-field foul pole. He thought it might be gone when he hit it.
Lauer and Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk had a quick chat on the mound after that one. But Crawford drove the next pitch — a cutter at the top of the zone — at 104 mph off his bat. Again, he thought it might leave the park.
“I did a little bit,” he said. “The wind was going over there a little bit. I thought maybe. It definitely felt good though.”
Crawford struck out on a pitch clock violation in the third inning. He hit a line drive over Blue Jays shortstop Josh Kasevich’s head in the fifth. The ball popped out of Kasevich’s glove for a single.
Crawford made a nice sliding catch in shallow left-center field in the fourth.
It was a solid first impression.
“He acts like he deserves to be here,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
But Crawford is leaving nothing to chance. He gets to the ballpark around 7 a.m. every day with a routine he never skips. He gets loose, then joins Single-A Threshers bench coach Shawn Williams near the half-field to work on his bunting.
Crawford is always Williams’ first visitor. He hasn’t missed one session.
“He wants to make it a weapon,” Williams said about bunting. “But it’s also just part of his routine because he knows it’s good for him. Even if he’s not going to bunt, it’s good for his eyes and everything. But he likes it. It’s a mentality because bunting is hard. People want the bunt down in the ninth inning when they’re facing the closer. It’s tough. The technique is great, but the mentality is by far the most important. And he has that.”
From there, Crawford joins Figueroa to work on his outfield play.
“Everyone has their opinion, but he can play center,” Figueroa said.
Crawford spent time in Arizona this offseason working with former Reds star Eric Davis to be a better outfielder. The work has continued in Clearwater.
“He wants to be great in every aspect of his game,” Figueroa said. “Like the bunting — he doesn’t miss his early work. He takes pride in it. If you want to be the greatest, you’ve got to take pride in it. He takes pride in every rep.”
From there, Crawford gets in the cage. He made an adjustment with his hands late last season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. They’re closer to his left ear now, which makes him quicker to the ball.
He looked quick on Saturday. It’s just one game, of course. He knows it. But it was a nice start.
“Really just trying to be in the moment and just control what I can control, and that’s the work that I put in,” Crawford said.
