Wood Work | Can J.P. Crawford’s Power Surge Last?

J.P. Crawford’s vibes at the plate have been immaculate as he is posting the best hitting numbers of his career through the first few months of the season.  He’s especially been a killer at the plate to begin the month of June, showing he can be as effective in the batter’s box as he is on defense with his Gold Glove.

In a season that has been filled with injuries and multiple lineup shuffles for the Seattle Mariners, there has been one constant. Crawford, the starting shortstop, has been a mainstay in Seattle’s lineup appearing in all but one game this season.  He has batted leadoff, fifth and seventh, but has not waivered at the plate.  

He entered Sunday’s game batting .257 with 19 RBI and three home runs, which have all come within the last month; two of which came last week in games against the Texa Rangers and Los Angeles Angels.

Friday night’s blast against the Angels goes down as the longest home run of Crawford’s short career.  On just the second pitch of the game, he sent Angels’ two-way player Shohei Ohtani’s 92mph fastball 430 feet to the right field bleachers.  

Crawford came into this season with a few more pounds to help improve his power, although it didn’t show much during the first part of the season.  Another improvement he made is seen in his numbers when facing left-handed pitching.

This season, Crawford is batting .328 with six doubles against lefties.  To put that into perspective, in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, he hit .242 and in 2019 he only had an average of .160.

The month of June is looking like it will be a prosperous one for Crawford.  Entering Sunday, he had a .368 batting average, three doubles, three runs, three RBI and a home run through the first five games.

His defense hasn’t faltered much this year despite the improvements seen on offense.  He leads all Major Leaguers in double plays turned with 38 and his Range Factor has him tied for second.

There is still no timetable on when last season’s American League Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis will be back after his meniscus injury. Hence, Crawford needs to continue to be a consistent part of a young Mariners team that is growing each day.  

Seattle will travel to Detroit this week for a three-game series against Baddoo Mania and the Tigers.