The Dylan Crews that was promised to Nationals fans has finally arrived

Dylan Crews has looked like the guy who conquered college baseball at LSU these last couple weeks

A couple weeks ago, I said that Dylan Crews should be sent down to Triple-A, and boy do I look stupid now. He seemed to take that personally, an is now a man on a mission. While I was wrong, I don’t think my take was irrational. On the morning I wrote that story, Dylan Crews was hitting .106 and had yet to record an extra base hit. However, he is red hot now and looks like the player the Nationals thought they were getting when they selected him second overall in the 2023 Draft.

In his last 15 games, Dylan Crews has a slash line of .291/.328/.564, giving him an .892 OPS in that time. He has also hit all four of his homers and all six of his extra base hits in that time. In his last nine games, he is even hotter, hitting .409 with four homers.

Beyond the numbers, Crews just plays the game the right way. That is a corny, often meaningless term. However, it applies to Crews. He plays so hard, is constantly hustling and plays with his hair on fire. It can get him in trouble, like that bases clearing triple the other night. However, it also allows him to make plays in the field and on the base paths.

That hustle makes his 97th percentile sprint speed a weapon on the baseball field. Crews is always taking the extra base or laying out for the baseball. It is truly a joy to watch him play right now.

He is having fun again, like he was at LSU. Even in the Minor Leagues last year, Crews was good, but still not quite the guy that was promised to Nats fans. Now we are seeing glimpses of that. Dylan Crews is a player that can do a bit of everything on a baseball field.

There are still areas of Crews’ game that need refinement, but hey, the kid is still a rookie. For example, he is only walking 3.2% of the time. However, his 53rd percentile chase rate suggests the walks will come before too long.

Walking more would be very helpful because Crews is an exceptional baserunner. He has six steals and has only been caught once. However, I am even more impressed with how he takes the extra base and how heads up he is on the bases.

We are just scratching the surface of the Dylan Crews experience I believe. Even though I said he should be sent down, my belief in his long term future never wavered. I just figured he needed time out of the firing line.

The Nationals staff is around him everyday and has access to stuff I do not have. For example, they can see how he is reacting to that failure. Clearly, they thought he was still mentally ready and would snap out of it. Credit to them, because they were right. After sticking with him through the struggles, the Nats are seeing the benefits of that.

Dylan Crews is a catalyst for the Nationals offense. While I understand batting him lower, the Nationals could use a right handed bat at the top of their lineup. A top three of Abrams, Crews and Wood would be a scary sight for opposing pitchers. I think we are going to see that before too long because Dylan Crews has arrived.