I could very well be wrong, but it seems to me this article is based on pure speculation, and not on any actual evidence. If Crawford is going to continue playing 1B for UConn, it would make sense to make him a starter, so you don't have to go through the odd spectacle of getting him warmed up for late inning stints as he plays the field and gets his at bats. In that sense I certainly wouldn't mind Crawford becoming a starting pitcher.
However, up to this point, Crawford has been used purely in relief in his few pitching stints at UConn, plus his appearances in summer ball with Bourne and with Westfield last summer, and I believe that is also the case with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, although I haven't seen any box scores from the national team to confirm that. But it seems to me if Crawford turning into a starter was actually in the plans, he very well might have gotten some starts this summer. Instead, Crawford has been getting much publicity in tweets from UConn baseball and others about his 100 plus mph fastball and such, which would seem to point to Crawford staying in the pen. Until someone actually starts to use Crawford as a starter (and that would include UConn during the coming fall ball season), I have to assume that Crawford will be seeing time at the back of the pen when he returns to Storrs in the fall.
One other thing. UConn has an incoming transfer by the name of Ben Huber who was a big hitter at Limestone College. If Huber remains a big hitter against Division 1 pitching, then it is quite possible Crawford won't be seeing as much time at 1B, thus helping to enable him to get more mound time.
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