Sometimes, baseball fans wonder why major league pitchers don’t throw complete games anymore. Or why some players have to be platooned so that they only face right-handed pitchers or maybe only face lefties.

There are actually a lot of reasons and answers to those questions, but one is that it’s the way the players are being groomed in the minors.

Pitchers simply don’t throw deep into games anymore, and hitters are often limited against one type of pitcher or another.

It would perhaps be more understandable if these were some of the lower prospects that a team has coming through the system, but for a top prospect like Justin Crawford, does it really make sense?

Most of Crawford’s days off this season have come against left-handed pitchers. Crawford is a left-handed hitter, so that’s just a matter of going by the book.

Most players will say they want to play every day and Crawford is one of those guys. For him though, he believes there are good reasons why he should be playing against lefties.

“I would want to be out there every day,” said Crawford recently. “Actually, for me at least, I feel pretty comfortable with lefties honestly. Actually, at times, I feel more comfortable seeing lefties, and that may sound weird, but I’m ready to go to work and hit whenever my name is called. Just give me the opportunity, I’m ready to go.”

Crawford isn’t just delivering some hyperbole about how he can hit lefties. The numbers back up his words.

In 142 at-bats against righties this season, Crawford was hitting .296 with a .369 on-base percentage (OBP) and had struck out 32 times. Against left-handers, Crawford had 41 at-bats with a .439 average and .489 OBP and had struck out eight times, a lower strikeout percentage than what he has shown against lefties.

For the 21-year-old prospect, facing lefties seems to bring out the best in his game. Ironically, he also feels that facing lefties is especially good for him when he’s struggling at the plate.

“It’s just something about facing them, it kind of keeps me on the ball,” admitted Crawford. “Whenever I’m scuffling, I like to say that it kind of just makes me have to lock in and really keep my head on the ball, so I’m really seeing it and maybe not pulling off of those pitches. It just helps me stay more locked in the zone when I face them.”

Crawford is the type of hitter that should be playing every day once he reaches the majors. Phillies manager Rob Thomson is fond of platoons, and often sits Brad Marsh and Bryson Stott against lefties. In the case of Marsh, the move makes some sense as his career average against righties is .053 points higher than against lefties (.267 vs .214).

Johan Rojas, who plays against lefties, is a career .259 hitter against southpaws and a career .260 hitter against righties.

As for Stott, a left-handed hitter who sits against most lefties, he is a .256 hitter no matter if he’s facing a lefty or a righty on the mound and his OBP is actually better — .331 vs .310 — against lefties than against right-handers.

Stott’s absence against lefties clears room for Edmundo Sosa, who Thomson wants to find playing time for and is slightly better against lefties (.266) than righties (.255).

Sometimes, conventional wisdom outsmarts itself. Let’s hope that Justin Crawford isn’t put into a platoon category.

CONDOLENCES … Former IronPigs pitching coach and Phillies bullpen coach Rod Nichols passed away recently at the age of 60. Nichols pitched seven seasons in the majors, most of those with Cleveland. After his playing career, Nichols became the scouting director for the Angels and was responsible for the team selecting Mike Trout. In his career, Nichols received three World Series rings, the first as a player with the Atlanta Braves in 1995, then as the Phillies bullpen coach in 2008, and finally with the Cubs in 2016. Nichols was the IronPigs pitching coach from 2008-2012.

HERE’S YOUR GOLD WATCH … Former IronPigs and Phillies reliever Jake Diekman announced his retirement from baseball recently. Diekman, 38, pitched with nine different MLB teams and had gone unsigned this season.

PIGS FLY … Former IronPigs announcer Matt Provence was fond of using the phrase “Pigs fly, Pigs fly!” at the end of a broadcast when the IronPigs won. The Pigs are flying in the International League East this season and hold a 6-game lead over Jacksonville, and 6 ½ game lead over Durham in the division. The first half of the IL season ends on June 25 and puts the first-half winner into the playoffs where they would face the second-half winner, or if the same team wins both halves, face the team with the next best overall record. The first-half winners host the best-of-three division series to determine who advances to the Triple-A Championship in Las Vegas in September.