Giants prospect Reggie Crawford has undergone shoulder surgical procedure. “Won’t ever be crushed,” Crawford stated in a put up on X together with an image of himself recovering from the process. “Thanks to Dr. ElAttrache for taking good care of the shoulder. I will likely be again quickly [emoji of hands making a heart shape]” The membership later introduced to members of the beat, together with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (X hyperlink), that the labrum surgical procedure comes with an estimated restoration timeline of 10 to 12 months. He’ll subsequently miss most or maybe all the 2025 season.
Crawford, now 23, was chosen by the Giants with the thirtieth general choose within the 2022 draft. A two-way participant in faculty, the Giants let him each pitch and hit final 12 months, although his workload was restricted. He had undergone Tommy John surgical procedure late in 2021 and didn’t pitch in any respect in 2022, then handled numerous different illnesses in the course of the 2023 season together with mononucleosis and a strained indirect. He tossed 19 innings on the 12 months and made 19 plate appearances, splitting his time between Single-A and Excessive-A. He went to the Arizona Fall League however didn’t pitch, hitting .138/.282/.276 in his 71 plate appearances there.
The Giants determined to have him focus solely on pitching in 2024. He hadn’t hit a lot in a small pattern of labor since being drafted however he had impressed along with his stuff from the mound. His fastball is within the triple-digit vary whereas each Baseball America and FanGraphs praised his curveball earlier this 12 months.
Crawford tossed 18 1/3 innings this 12 months, cut up between Double-A and Triple-A. He allowed 2.95 earned runs per 9 whereas hanging out 38.5% of batters confronted. His 15.4% stroll price was fairly excessive, maybe unsurprising for a man with a lot missed time.
However his final look was in June and he’s now slated for an additional prolonged absence. Crawford is clearly gifted however the quite a few bumps within the street are lower than a super for a pitcher who remains to be creating and harnessing his stuff. At this level, between faculty and the minors, he’s solely thrown 53 2/3 of official gameplay.
He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after sitting out the bulk, or maybe the whole lot, of the 2025 marketing campaign. Given his expertise and standing as a key prospect within the group, the Giants will seemingly nonetheless defend him by giving him a roster spot. Nonetheless, this can be a notable improvement for Crawford and the membership. Getting one of the best model of Crawford was already going to be a undertaking for the Giants and now he’s going to be on ice for near a 12 months, placing his improvement on pause.
