J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

3 years ago by Mike Marteny

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ANALYSIS: Crawford extended his hitting streak to 10 games today. In that span, he is hitting .340 with two homers, eight RBI, and seven runs scored. He is sitting atop a lineup that is starting to hit its stride right now. Crawford has never been much of a power guy, but he is easily going to set a career high in both doubles and homers this year.

Crawford was the prize of the Jean Segura deal with Philadelphia after the 2018 season. What Seattle saw in Crawford then is the same thing they do now. Crawford has yet to steal bases like he did in the minors, but his .269 career average in the minor leagues suggests that his current .280 mark is not a fluke.

There is reason to believe that Crawford could even flirt with .300. He is hitting .358 in the month of June and after struggling against left-handed pitchers for the first few years of his career, Crawford is hitting .337 against them this year. His average against righties is a touch under his career mark, so expect that to rise a little bit too.

The main reason why I expect Crawford to retain the average aside from him learning how to hit lefties is that he has controlled his strikeout rate. His strikeout rate in his first three major league seasons was 25%. He has lowered it to 17.2% over 2020 and 2021. His walk rate is also creeping upwards, which is nice for those of us in points leagues and leagues that count OBP.

At the very least, Crawford should be able to help your average and runs scored while he's running hot. He hit 15 homers between AA and AAA in 2017, so there's a chance he could get to that mark this year. If he can do that while retaining his .280 average, there's value in that in most leagues.

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