Before Dylan Crews was drafted in 2023 by the Washington Nationals, he told me that he had never been to Washington, D.C. before. After the draft he traveled to D.C. twice, and now he could make the D.C. area his home for the long-term.
What we did not know before the draft was whether Crews would be going to the Pirates as they had the No. 1 pick or the Nationals at No. 2. With their No. 1 pick, Pittsburgh selected Paul Skenes, and the Nats drafted the Golden Spikes winner and LSU National Champ, Crews, with their No. 2 pick.
“I think it would be awesome [to be drafted by the Nationals]. I guess whatever happens, happens. I have no control over [which team drafts me]. … If that were to happen — if that were to be where I end up in the future — that would be awesome. I think it’s a great organization.”
— Crews told TalkNats before the draft in 2023
“… I think [Washington D.C.] would be a really cool place to be.”
In just about one year and one month from signing his contract with the Nationals, Crews will make his MLB debut tomorrow against the Yankees in front of a packed house at Nats Park. In less than 60-days, general manager Mike Rizzo made the decision to callup his Top-2 prospects with James Wood on July 1 and now Crews.
The plan was to get Crews to Washington, D.C. yesterday to get settled in, and he got to watch his hometown Lake Mary Little League team win the World Series today. He did a video for Lake Mary before the game.
In the opposite dugout on Monday, will be Aaron Judge and his 51 home runs, and Juan Soto who is set to be a free agent in two month and two weeks. Soto knows what it is like to play in a packed house in D.C., and this will be a bipartisan crowd with lots of Yankees fans too. But with Crews’ debut, expect that there will be plenty clad in Nats’ gear also.
We already know that Riley Adams was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Crews. We are fairly certain that he will man the pasture in right field with Wood in left field, and Jacob Young in center field. With Alex Call on the 10-day IL, the fourth outfielder will be Gold Glover, Joey Gallo, who will most likely play first base going forward.
With 31-games remaining in this season, Crews will get an abbreviated taste of the big leagues, and if all goes well, he should be on the 2025 Opening Day roster. That brings more excitement to the future when you consider that some believe that Rizzo picked Monday as Crews’ day to debut to showcase him and Wood and the youth in front of Soto who could certainly fit in as the future first baseman of the team. Yes, first base. Soto has been doing side drills at first base with the Yankees. That would certainly make Soto more marketable with positional flexibility as a free agent.
Yes, the Nationals have a huge need for first base for next season. With a great late-season surge by the Nats’ young starting rotation, the starting pitchers in the last six games now have an ERA of 1.80 over 35.0 IP, yielding just 7 earned runs in that span. That is great news that could free up Rizzo and the Lerner ownership group to deploy their cash to an ace starter, a first baseman, and one or two more bullpen pieces. With an $81 million CBT payroll (that includes Stephen Strasburg), the Nats should have a lot of cash to spend — but there is no way of knowing the exact budget to spend — and the players who will say “Yes” to the Nats.
The team still has third baseman and the team’s No. 2 prospect, Brady House, getting ready in Triple-A Rochester, and after the trade deadline, the team acquired Jose Tena as part of a trade with the Cleveland Guardians. The team will get an extended look at Tena also.
Even without a free agent signing like Soto, the Nats should look a lot better with this current roster and top prospects going into next year, and Rizzo will certainly look at other key free agent signings. We will have months and months to talk about this as we put other names to the debate as to who will fit. What you need to know is that Crews has been a winner as he led LSU to their National Championship last year.
“I’m going to keep bringing what I’ve been bringing to the table, and hopefully, [we] will bring [another] World Series to this organization.”
— Crews said after the draft in 2023
Get excited, the future is here.
