Crawford was Boston’s 16^th-round pick in 2017 out of Florida Gulf Coast University. The area scout who signed him that late in the draft is due a raise: in his first full pro season, Crawford was excellent with Class A Greenville before earning a promotion to High A Salem in August.

There’s crossfire deception in his semi-windup delivery, but it also causes issues repeating which limits his in-zone command. Crawford’s fastball worked in the 89-to-93 mph range as a starter, showing solid run and sink to the armside. The go-to secondary pitch is a hard cutter/slider hybrid at 84-to-87 mph, showing sharp tilt down and away from righties at best. He doesn’t consistently locate it for a strike, but can gets swings over the top when able to bury the pitch down in the zone. He mixes a soft curveball in the mid-70s as a “show me” offering, wrinkling in a little-used changeup in the low-80s that he’ll be able to drop in a relief role.

Boston is developing Crawford as a starter, but the frame and (primarily) two-pitch arsenal make the ‘pen a likely long-term destination at higher levels. He tired as the summer wore on, losing some ticks off the fastball since 2080 evaluators first reported on the righty early in the 2018 season. The ceiling is a middle reliever, though if he can’t sharpen his command moving forward, Crawford could wind up more of a 4A type without a carry tool to establish a regular big league role.