Washington Nationals Officially Call Up Top Prospect Dylan Crews For MLB Debut

Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, has been added to the Washington Nationals' active roster ahead of their showdown with the New York Yankees on Monday.

Jul 22, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews (3) walks out of the batting cage prior to the Nationals' game against the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals have selected the contract of outfielder Dylan Crews, the team announced Monday morning.

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, will make his big league debut against the New York Yankees on Monday night. MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Nationals' farm system and the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball.

The No. 1 and No. 2 prospects – Jackson Holliday and Junior Caminero – have already been playing in the majors for several weeks now, making Crews the top-ranked minor leaguer at the time of his call-up.

News of Crews' promotion first came out over the weekend, and he reportedly joined the team in Washington on Sunday. All the club needed to do to make the move official was free up a spot on the active roster, which they did by optioning catcher Riley Adams to Triple-A Rochester.

capital D.C.

-> https://t.co/ZKOja9h8Tp pic.twitter.com/5yv2Q2q9Z5

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 26, 2024

Crews made a name for himself as a superstar slugger at LSU, racking up 286 hits, 58 home runs, 184 RBI, 23 stolen bases across 196 games. The two-time All-American was a .380 hitter with an 1.187 OPS during his collegiate career.

That production convinced the Nationals to give Crews a $9 million signing bonus last summer, and he proceeded to hit .292 with five home runs, 29 RBI, four stolen bases, an .845 OPS in his first 35 minor league appearances.

Crews started 2024 in Double-A, but got moved up to Triple-A shortly after. On the whole this season, he is batting .270 with 13 home runs, 68 RBI, 25 stolen bases and a .792 OPS in 100 games.

Just since Aug. 7, however, Crews has hit .317 with four home runs, 13 RBI, five stolen bases and a .967 OPS. He has reached base safely at least once in each of his last 16 games, getting aboard 30 times in that span.

MLB Pipeline has Crews graded as a 60 overall. His hit, power and run tools all earned 60s, while his arm and field garnered 55s.

Crews' promotion comes just a few weeks after the Nationals' other top outfield prospect, James Wood, got called up to make his big league debut. Washington will now get to ride out the season with a 24-year-old CJ Abrams, 22-year-old Crews and a 21-year-old Wood anchoring the lineup and providing a window into the franchise's future.

First pitch for Monday night's game between the Nationals and Yankees is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET.

Crews will have some family in the stands cheering him on at Nationals Park, including his mother. The young outfielder called him mom to deliver the news this past weekend, and the team shared a video of the conversation on social media Monday morning.

dylan surprised MOMMA CREWS with the mlb debut news!!!

❤️🥹 @__dc4__ 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/CfwkX2SZcZ

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 26, 2024

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