If you’re not ready, it’s going to show,” Crawford said. “No matter who you are, no matter what number prospect you are, this league is going to handle everybody differently. Jarred Kelenic got a taste of that this spring. It wasn’t a straight line to success for Crawford, and it usually isn’t for even the most-touted prospects. “Because they’re going to have questions … and I want to be that guy that, no matter what time it is, they can always hit me up.” “I tell everybody who comes in, all these rookies, ‘If you guys got questions, come to me.’ I want to be there for my guys,” Crawford said. In an organization boasting one of baseball’s most-talented farm systems, he has also become a prime example – maybe the best example – for up-and-coming prospects on what it takes to be an everyday major leaguer, and the no-days-off mentality required to push through inevitable struggles. Still just 26, Crawford is an emerging leader in the Mariners’ clubhouse. “He took it to heart,” Servais said, “and it never happened again.” Servais challenged the young shortstop, and Crawford can most often be found now in the front row for team meetings, taking notes and speaking up. During his first spring training with the Mariners, he spent early team meetings sitting in the back of the room, half paying attention as coaches went through various defensive situations. 1 prospect, but he was hardly a finished product when he arrived in Seattle. Acquiring Crawford from Philadelphia, in a trade package that included Jean Segura, was one of the first significant moves in that step-back plan.Ĭrawford was a former first-round draft pick and had been the Phillies’ No. When the Mariners made the decision to rebuild after the 2018 season, Crawford was one of the first players the front office identified as a potential future centerpiece. “And when my boss asks me that, I give him a very definite yes.”
“For me, the question is: Is this guy going to help you win? Can this guy play the middle of the field for a championship club?” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. 341 on-base percentage and a team-leading 2.8 wins above replacement – and his breakthrough just might be the most important big-picture development for the organization this year. Crawford is the Mariners’ shortstop, for now and for the foreseeable future.Ĭrawford’s transformation in the first half of the season helped the Mariners (49-43) become one of MLB’s most surprising teams and, just as vital, opened new possibilities this winter as the Mariners plan in earnest to become legitimate playoff contenders in 2022 and beyond.Ĭoming off a Gold Glove season in 2020, Crawford enters the second half of this season in the midst of a career year at the plate – posting a. And between them, they could command contracts in the neighborhood of $700 million this winter.Īt the beginning of this year, if you had given the Seattle Mariners’ front office truth serum and asked if the M’s were planning to jump into the shortstop spending spree, the likely answer would have been a definite yes.īut now? Now they have a different answer.
JACOB NOTTINGHAM MARINERS SERIES
SEATTLE – For several years, the baseball world has been buzzing with anticipation about the 2021 free-agent class of superstar shortstops.īetween them, the Cubs’ Javier Baez, the Astros’ Carlos Correa, the Dodgers’ Corey Seager and the Rockies’ Trevor Story have combined for eight All-Star appearances and three World Series titles.
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