Dylan Crews: Nationals 2024 Minor League Player Of The Year
A little more than a year after the Nationals drafted Louisiana State outfielder Dylan Crews with the second overall pick, he showed he was ready for the big leagues.
The 22-year-old starred for Triple-A Rochester in August, hitting .294/.361/.506 in his final 20 games prior to his Aug. 26 callup to Washington.
Between Double-A Harrisburg and Rochester this season, Crews hit 13 home runs and was successful on 25 of 30 stolen base attempts while batting .270/.342/.451 in 100 games.
“Really controlling the zone (was the biggest difference),” Crews said. “As the year goes on, I tend to get a little bit better—based on history in college and even in high school.
“August came around and I was seeing the ball great. I just tried to capitalize on it.”
Crews played all three outfield positions on his way to MLB, but he has primarily settled in as a right fielder with rookies James Wood and Jacob Young playing left and center. That’s just a small part of the young talent that will soon help the Nationals, according to Crews.
“I think we have a great core moving up together,” Crews said. “A lot of us played with each other even before professional baseball. I think in the next year or two, we’ll be pretty good.”
Crews won the national championship with LSU in 2023 and quickly advanced to MLB this season. He has above-average tools across the board and is expected to contribute in a number of ways.
“Honestly, we all felt Dylan made great progress in both Harrisburg and Rochester this year,” Nationals farm director Eddie Longosz said. “He did an excellent job fine-tuning his hitting approach in Rochester with (hitting coach) Brian Daubach and our hitting coordinator Tommy Everidge.”
Crews has been a well-known prospect since his high school years in Lake Mary, Fla., and the Nationals believe he has the makeup to match his talents.
“He’s a pro when he comes to the park every day, and his work ethic is tremendous,” Longosz said. “I’m very happy for him and looking forward to his continued success at the highest level.”
CAPITAL GAINS
— The Nationals signed Virginia Tech righthander Zach Brzykcy after the five-round 2020 draft. He was one of the organization’s two callups on Sept. 1. He pitched at all four full-season minor league levels this year on his way back from Tommy John surgery.
“He has a very good fastball, good changeup and a good curveball,” High-A Wilmington manager Mario Lisson said. “At the beginning, he was trying to get a better feel for his fastball and get back to his normal self. Some of his outings were just nine pitches or eight pitches, so it was hard to get to work on his stuff. But he was able to get ready to go to the next level.”
— Second baseman Darren Baker, the son of former Nationals manager Dusty Baker, was the Nationals’ other September callup when rosters expanded from 26 to 28. Baker, a 10th-round pick in 2021 out of California, recorded a hit in his first major league at-bat.
