North Schuylkill grad Reggie Crawford is headed to the 2023 Arizona Fall League and likely will be a hitter, exclusively.
According to MLB.com, Crawford is expected to be primarily a Designated Hitter for the Scottsdale Scorpions when the league starts next week.
Crawford mostly pitched during the 2023 Minor League Baseball season, when he was promoted from the San Jose Giants to the “High-A” Eugene Emeralds mid-season.
Although he was mostly a pitcher for both teams, Crawford did hit his first professional home run while with San Jose.
And even though his action was rather limited on the mound for both San Jose and Eugene, Crawford showed some flashes of brilliance.
He appeared in 6 games for the Ems (all starts), throwing a combined 8 innings with a stellar 1.13 ERA. He allowed just 6 hits and 6 walks but struck out 14 batters.
Going to the Arizona Fall League as a hitter will allow him to show off the two-way playing ability that likely prompted the Giants to draft him in the first round (30th overall) of the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft.
What is the Arizona Fall League?
The Arizona Fall League is played, obviously, in the Fall, and features teams filled with rosters of some of baseball’s top prospects. Teams that own those prospects will assign them to the Arizona Fall League.
There are 6 teams in the league and each of those teams draws prospects from specific MLB franchises. Crawford’s Giants send their prospects to the Scottsdale Scorpions.
The other Arizona Fall League teams include:
- Glendale Desert Dogs
- Mesa Solar Sox
- Peoria Javelinas
- Salt River Rafters
- Surprise Saguaros
In the 2023 version of the league, 10 of MLB’s Top 100 prospects will be playing. The league runs from Oct. 2 until Nov. 9. Playoffs in the Arizona Fall League are Nov. 10-11.
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