Crawford, Franco, Santana Headed to Futures Game

BlueClaws alums JP Crawford and Maikel Franco will represent the Phillies and Domingo Santana will represent the Astros in the MLB Futures Game on Sunday, July 13th at Target Field in Minneapolis, site of the 2014 MLB All-Star Game. 

Crawford, the 16th overall pick the draft last year by the Phillies, played two weeks with the BlueClaws last year and spent the first half of this season with Lakewood, hitting .295 with 3 HRs, 19 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. He was selected to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game with more votes than any other player in the league. When he was with Lakewood last year, Crawford became the first player to ever be drafted out of high school and play for Lakewood in the same calendar year. He was promoted to Hi-A Clearwater on June 18th. 

Franco spent part of 2011 and all of 2012 with the BlueClaws. In 2012, he hit .280 with 14 HRs and 84 RBIs. His 57 RBIs in the second half of the season were most in the league and he finished the year with six straight mutli-hit games. Last year he hit 31 home runs and drove in 103 runs between Clearwater and Reading. He's currently with Lehigh Valley, the Phillies Triple-A affiliate. Franco played in the Futures Game last year as well. 

Santana spent part of 2010 and 2011 with Lakewood. When he opened the 2010 season with the BlueClaws at age 17, he was then the youngest player in team history. In 2011, he was hitting .269 with 7 HRs and 32 RBIs until he was traded to the Astros as part of the deal that sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies. He finished that season with Lexington in the South Atlantic League. He's currently playing for Oklahoma City, the Astros Triple-A affiliate. 

Fans can watch the Futures Game on MLB Network on June 13th at 5 pm. For full rosters, click here.

The BlueClaws have been represented in the game every year since 2003. Carlos Carrasco (2006), Adrian Cardenas (2007), Jarred Cosart (2010), and Crawford (2014) are the only players to be selected in the same year the played for the BlueClaws. 

- BlueClaws -