Crawford, Kemp, Abel Honored by International League Year-End Awards
IL Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Crawford, Kemp, Abel Honored by International League Year-End Awards

Published on September 27, 2025 under International League (IL)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs News Release


Allentown, Pennsylvania - Minor League Baseball (MiLB™Ã¯Â¸Â) announced that IronPigs infielder Otto Kemp, outfielder Justin Crawford, and former 'Pig Mick Abel were selected to the International League 2025 All-Star Team with Abel also taking home International League Pitcher of the Year honors.

It is the first time since 2018 the 'Pigs have had at least three players selected to the Postseason I.L. All-Star Team (Meneses, Irvin, Walding, Beato) and just the 2nd time they've had three or more selections. Abel's claim as I.L. Pitcher of the Year is the 4th time in franchise history, following Tyler Cloyd (2012), Jake Thompson (2016) and Cole Irvin (2018).

Infielder Otto Kemp

Kemp appeared in 74 games total with the 'Pigs, slashing .310/.417/.570 with 16 homers, 67 RBI and 64 runs scored. He was 13-15 in stealing bases and was also hit by 19 pitches, an IronPigs single-season franchise record. On April 22 he was hit by a pitch four times, setting the club's single-game mark as well. Kemp began the year on the IronPigs Opening Day roster and had his contract selected by the Phillies on June 7, making his Major League debut the same day. From the beginning of the season through June 6,had the following rankings among International League batters: first in home runs (14), runs (49), total bases (133), RBI (55), extra-base hits (34), slugging percentage (.594) and OPS (1.010), tied for second in doubles (19), third in hits (70) and fifth in batting average (.313) and on-base percentage (.416). He was named IL Player of the Month (April), Phillies Minor League Co-Hitter of the Month (April) and IL Player of the Week for the week of April 28-May 4. With Kemp in the lineup, the 'Pigs held a record of 53-21.

Outfielder Justin Crawford

Crawford appeared in 112 games for the IronPigs, setting a franchise record by hitting .334 which also won him the International League batting title, the first batting crown in franchise history. In total, Crawford slashed .334/.411/.452 with seven homers and 47 RBI, swiping 46 bases. Among qualifiers, Crawford was 3rd in the IL in OBP, 2nd in hits (147), 1st in runs (88), and 3rd in stolen bases. Crawford was selected as the IronPigs Hitter of the Year as well.

Pitcher Mick Abel

Abel gets tabbed for the I.L. All-Star team and also takes the highest honor of Pitcher of the Year. Abel appeared in 13 games for the 'Pigs before he was traded to Minnesota on July 30 for Jhoan Duran. Mick was named International League pitcher of the month for May and was IL Pitcher of the week in mid-July. Mick finished his time with the 'Pigs holding a 7-2 record and 2.31 ERA. His seven wins still lead the team even after his trade while he struck out 81 in 74 innings for Lehigh Valley. Following his trade to Minnesota, Abel made five additional appearances for the St. Paul Saints, bringing his final line for the season to: 7-2, 2.20 ERA, 98.1IP, 114K, 69H, 40BB. Abel made his Major League debut with the Phillies on May 18, striking out nine batters with no walks, and tying Curt Simmons for the most strikeouts in an MLB debut by a Phillies pitcher since at least 1901.

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The IronPigs are presented by Capital Blue Cross.

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International League Stories from September 27, 2025


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