Get to know Nationals' No. 1 prospect Dylan Crews
Thomas Harrigan
@HarriganMLBDylan Crews was selected No. 2 overall by the Nationals in the 2023 MLB Draft. A little more than a year later, he is set to make his big league debut. Here¡¯s everything you need to know about MLB Pipeline's No. 3 overall prospect.
FAST FACTS
Position: OF
Ht/Wt: 5-foot-11, 203 lbs.
B/T: Right/right
DOB: Feb. 26, 2002
College: Louisiana State
High school: Lake Mary (Lake Mary, Fla.)
Born: Altamonte Springs, Fla.
He¡¯s a five-tool prospect
What is Crews' best attribute on the diamond? It's hard to decide because he can do everything. MLB Pipeline gave his hitting, power and speed a 60-grade while his arm and defense got a 55-grade on the 20-80 scouting scale. According to Pipeline, most scouts think Crews has the tools to stick in center field, although he will likely begin his MLB career in right since Jacob Young is contending for a Gold Glove in center for the Nationals.
Prior to the 2023 MLB Draft, one American League scouting executive had especially high praise for Crews, comparing him to another college stud who recently went No. 1 overall.
¡°Crews is the best overall prospect since [2019 No. 1 overall Draft pick] Adley Rutschman,¡± the scouting executive said.
He has been on a tear in the Minors
Crews has produced solid numbers everywhere he has been in the Minors. He owns a .275/.351/.455 career slash line across five levels and has hit 18 home runs with stolen 29 bases in 135 MiLB career games. He was in the midst of a hot August, slugging .513 with four home runs and 14 RBIs across 18 games at Triple-A Rochester, before being called up on Aug. 26. Five days earlier, Crews put together his first four-hit game at Triple-A.
He narrowly missed out on becoming LSU¡¯s second No. 1 overall pick
In addition to winning six national championships since 1991, the LSU baseball program has a history of producing top MLB talent. Alex Bregman, Aaron Nola, Kevin Gausman and DJ LeMahieu are some of the notable active players from LSU, and the university also counts former big league All-Stars Albert Belle, Al Dark, Brian Wilson, Joe Adcock and Aaron Hill among its alumni.
Crews was almost the second LSU product to go first overall in the Draft, joining pitcher Ben McDonald, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1989 Draft by the Orioles. Instead, it was instead Crews¡¯ teammate, pitcher Paul Skenes, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Pirates.
Still, the two became the first set of teammates to be selected first and second in the same Draft. About 14 months after hearing their names called, both are now in the Majors.
His parents bought a motorhome to attend his college games
After Crews made his decision to attend LSU, his parents purchased a 40-foot Tiffin motorhome so they could commute back and forth from their home in Florida to Crews¡¯ games.
However, they needed to do some remodeling first.
The motorhome¡¯s previous owner was an avid fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide, one of LSU¡¯s chief rivals. According to ¡°The Advocate,¡± Crews¡¯ father offered the seller extra money to repaint the exterior in LSU¡¯s colors, purple and gold. The seller refused, so Crews¡¯ dad handled the remodel himself.
It remains to be seen if Crews¡¯ dad will go for another redesign to match the Nationals' team colors.
He¡¯s known for his flashy footwear
Crews is a collector of custom cleats, typically rocking a different pair each game. For LSU¡¯s first game of 2023, Crews even broke out a pair of neon blue and green ¡°Spongebob Squarepants¡± cleats that paid homage to the popular cartoon show.
His college stats were staggering
It¡¯s no surprise that the No. 2 pick excelled against collegiate competition, but the extent of his dominance was still astounding.
Crews was a star from the jump, setting an LSU freshmen record with 18 homers while hitting .362 in 2021. He followed that up with 22 homers and a .349 batting average as a sophomore and finished his junior season with a .426 average, a .567 on-base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage, hitting 18 homers and walking 71 times with only 46 strikeouts in 71 games.
"He¡¯s the best college hitter I¡¯ve seen in a long time," said one National League scouting executive.
Crews won the Golden Spikes Award, which has been bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States since 1978, and led LSU to its seventh national championship in 2023. He would be just the ninth Golden Spikes winner to go first overall in the MLB Draft, joining Bob Horner (1978), Ben McDonald (1989), Phil Nevin (1992), Pat Burrell (1998), David Price (2007), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Bryce Harper (2010) and Rutschman (2019).