'All Hell Is Gonna Break Loose,' Justin Crawford, Trea Turner Hyped by Phillies Coach

The Philadelphia Phillies were one of the best baserunning teams in MLB last season, but they could take that skill to another level in 2026 after adding Justin Crawford's elite speed to their lineup.

As Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long told The Athletic's Jayson Stark after Thursday's season-opening win over the Texas Rangers, "all hell is gonna break loose" when Crawford and Trea Turner are on base at the same time.

Crawford, the No. 53 overall prospect in MLB entering this season, made Philadelphia's 26-man roster and started in center field on Thursday. At 22 years old, he became the team's youngest starting outfielder on Opening Day since Mike Anderson in 1972.

The Turner-Crawford pairing isn't a traditional lineup duo, at least not yet, because Crawford hit in the ninth spot on Thursday. It worked out well for the Phillies since the tandem combined to go 4-for-8 with three runs scored in a 5-3 victory over the Rangers.

Crawford's best tool is his plus-plus speed that helps him cover a lot of ground in center. He also used it to steal 145 bases in 325 games in the minors over the past four seasons.

Even at the age of 32 last season, Turner stole 36 bases in 141 games. The Phillies as a team ranked 12th in MLB with 124 steals, but they were even better in FanGraphs' BaseRunning metric that uses various stats including stolen bases, caught steals, taking extra bases, being thrown out on the bases, etc.

Philadelphia tied for sixth in that category despite Turner and Bryson Stott being the only players on the roster who stole more than 12 bases.

Crawford figures to help in all of these speed and baserunning categories as he gets acclimated to MLB pitching.