Mariners' J.P. Crawford's shortstop ranking highlights need for 2025 rebound

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has put together an article ranking every Major League team's starting shortstop for the 2025 season, and in 23rd place is none other than J.P. Crawford of the Seattle Mariners.

Almost right away, you know there will be a certain segment of the fanbase making accusations of yet another case of an East-coast/anti-Seattle bias from a member of the mainstream sports media.

Yet when you consider the situation objectively, Reuter was arguably well within his rights to rank Crawford at No. 23 based on how the 30-year-old performed during last season. The reality is that he had one of his worst seasons in the Majors, particularly on the offensive side.

Crawford set career lows in multiple categories, including a .202 batting average, .304 OBP and .625 OPS. Bringing this up is not to meant to dump on the guy; it's only a case of highlighting just how much he struggled throughout the 2024 season.

A nightmare 2024 season for J.P. Crawford in Seattle

Compounding how tough last year was for Crawford is that he was coming off a spectacular 2023 campaign. He set a host of career highs that year, including with 19 home runs, 65 RBI, 94 walks, a .380 OBP, .438 slugging percentage, .818 OPS, 133 OPS+ and 5.1 WAR.

On the subject of WAR, it should be noted that while Reuter did rank Crawford low, he also still pointed to the shortstop managing 2.7 WAR in 2024 despite his tepid offensive production. This alludes to what the 2020 Gold Glove Award winner is still capable of defensively.

Of course, no matter much potential or upside a player has, it doesn't mean much if he doesn't fulfil it. In respect of Crawford, there has to be the wonder of which of the past two seasons better represents what he is likely to do in 2025.

What can the Mariners expect from J.P. Crawford in 2025?

Per 2025 steamer projections, you can expect only a slight improvement by Crawford compared to his subpar 2024 season. Among other things, the projections have him producing 11 home runs, 53 RBI, a .696 OPS and 2.8 WAR.

In our opinion, we expect a solid bounce back campaign from Crawford in 2025, assisted by a whole season working with Dan Wilson, Edgar Martínez and Kevin Seitzer. It will also (hopefully) help that he'll be motivated to prove himself once again with -- as noted by Reuter -- the combination of having just two years remaining on his deal together with the likes of Cole Young breathing down his neck.

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