Knigge, Crawford win may honors as Phillies Minor League Players of the Month

Shortstop J.P. Crawford of the Lakewood BlueClaws is the Phillies Minor League Player of the Month for May. Pitching honors go to Lehigh Valley right-hander Tyler Knigge.

Crawford, 19, batted .367 with one home run, 10 RBI and a .969 OPS for the month. A native of Lakewood, Calif., he was selected by the Phillies in the first round (16th overall) of the 2013 draft and signed by Demerius Pittman.

The 6-foot-2 left-handed hitter batted safely in 20 of his 24 games played in May, while tallying multiple hits in nine of those 20 contests. Crawford's .401 on-base percentage for the month was good for eighth place in all of Single-A.

Knigge went 3-0 with three saves in three opportunities and a 0.00 ERA over 11 games played for Reading in May. The 6-foot-4 reliever struck out 13 batters while walking only four in 21.0 innings of work for a 3.25 strikeout-to-walk-ratio during the month. He allowed only 14 hits in 72 at-bats, holding opponents to a .194 average.
            
Selected in the 12th round of the June 2010 draft out of Lewis-Clark State College, the 25-year-old Knigge was promoted to Lehigh Valley on June 1.