Phillies news & links — J.P. Crawford played third base

Good morning! Just a few things to get to on this fine day, so let’s jump right in.

J.P. Crawford made his first-ever start at third base

So, this is, uh, interesting. Our shortstop of the future made his first start somewhere besides shortstop. The Phillies had the IronPigs farmhand start at third base yesterday, which is... fine?

I don’t think I hate this. We don’t know if this is permanent or not (hello, Manny Machado!), but if it is... you know, we’ll deal with that as it comes. At least I will. I can’t control it, and these games just really, really don’t matter. Like, at all. So if Crawford is going to come up and the Phillies want to respect Freddy Galvis’ desire to play all 162 games (which considering what he’s been through with this franchise, I think that’s a nice gesture), this is how it has to be done. The point is to get these “kids” at-bats in the majors. And that’s what’s going to happen. The Phillies have bought themselves four to five months (November through March) to figure out what to do with Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, Cameron Rupp, and Tommy Joseph. They just have to commit to doing it.

Oh, and since July 1, Crawford has hit .306/.397/.595. That’s almost two solid months, and it looks like he’s figured things out. This is the Crawford we were promised. And if the Phillies (AND THE FANS) are patient with him when he gets to the majors, the same thing could happen. Not every player starts producing the minute he gets to a new level. (Not everyone is Scott Kingery, after all, swoooooon.) Crawford deserved, and had earned, our patience. And when he gets to the majors, the same thing will be true. He’s a good player, and it’s not a crime to need more time to figure things out. What we know now is that if he’s given that time, it’s more than likely he’ll get to where we, and he, wants to be.

Rhys Hoskins has a lot of family

The Phillies have spent about a week on the West Coast, and it just so happens that Rhys Hoskins has a metric crap ton of family in California. His family came to see him in San Diego, when he had just come up, and then even more family came to see him in San Francisco.

Okay, seriously, I think I’m going to cry. This is one of the hidden benefits to having a lot of young players coming to the majors: we get to watch their families see the fruit of their long labor. Rhys Hoskins is in the majors, and that’s not just his dream coming true, it’s the dream his family has supported for decades. It’s just as much theirs as it is his, and watching everyone be so, so happy about it makes me feel all the feelings.

Oh, and also this.

Wheeeeeeee!

Pedro Florimon had himself a Sunday

Until this weekend, I had no idea that Pedro Florimon was so beloved by fans of other teams. But he is! He had himself a day on Sunday, and everyone was thrilled. And so was I!

Welcome to the Phillies, Pedro. Feel free to stay around for awhile.