What to Expect from Nationals Outfielder Dylan Crews

The Nationals’ youth movement has already seen the likes of CJ Abrams and James Wood take over in D.C. Now, add Dylan Crews to the mix. The former LSU star and second overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft will reportedly be called up to the Majors on August 26. The promotion of Dylan Crews to the Nationals comes amidst an up-and-down season for the highly-touted prospect and a strong August.

A Look at Crews

Nationals outfield prospect Dylan Crews could have been a first-round pick in 2020. He opted to honor his commitment to LSU and it paid off in spades. Crews recorded three seasons in which he had at least 18 home runs, batted .380 across three seasons with the Tigers, and capped off his college career with an NCAA title. Had Paul Skenes not ascended in the way he did with LSU, Crews could have been the top pick in 2023.

Crews went to the Nationals with the second overall pick and he mashed against Low-A pitching (.355, eight XBH over 14 GP) last season before a quick promotion to Double-A. He batted just .208 in Harrisburg last season and Crews had trouble finding his footing there this season. Crews posted a .663 OPS in Double-A in April but hit better (.890 OPS) in May. His time in Triple-A went about the same; an adjustment period before he batted .289 with four home runs (seven XBH) across 18 games in August with the Red Wings.

The 22-year-old is in every sense of the word a five-tool prospect. Crews can make an impact on the bases (25 SB this season), hit for power and average & won’t strike out too much, and is athletic enough to fit anywhere in the outfield.

Dylan Crews Hard Hit 2024 — This is a heat map of all pitches off Crews’ bat with 95 MPH or greater. More than half were off fastballs.

Crews has a quiet setup at the plate. He can generate a ton of bat speed and will use his lower half to time up pitches.

The 5’11” outfielder didn’t strike out that much in the Minors (21.4% career K%), a good sign. But as one would expect from any hitter with power, expect whiffs against breaking balls and changeups. 33.3% of his whiffs among recorded Statcast pitches in the Minors this season were on breaking balls.

Dylan Crews whiff map 2024 — Crews doesn’t have trouble up barreling up fastballs. But, offspeed and breaking balls can be trouble, as can be expected.

Per reports, the Nationals will promote Dylan Crews for his MLB debut on August 26.

Analysis

The promotion of Crews gives Nationals fans an early look at what Washington’s outfield could look like over the coming years.

James Wood, promoted earlier this season, has been a menace at the plate for Washington in August. The rookie batted .347/.437/.573 with 14 RBI in August heading into play on August 25. He’s also been a barrel machine (12.1%) over his brief MLB career, although that hasn’t turned into plus home run power yet. And in center field, Jacob Young (.634 OPS) isn’t a plus hitter by any means but is a fast and sound defender.

Crews is a five-tool player who can live up to the hype and be a force at the MLB level.

Since Crews can’t accrue enough days to exhaust his prospect status, he’ll likely be a strong early candidate for the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year award and a future PPI pick for the Nationals. Assuming, of course, he doesn’t get 150 at-bats.

Fantasy Outlook

Based on his pedigree and talent, Crews was a name to watch in drafts late earlier this year. That was purely speculative, though, as it took a while for him to find his groove in the upper Minors. Now that he’ll join the Nationals, he instantly becomes a name to hone in on, regardless of format.