Washington Nationals Announce Move to Make Room for Top Prospect’s Debut

The Washington Nationals made the move to pave the way for top prospect Dylan Crews to make his debut on Monday.

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

Washington Nationals prospect Dylan Crews is set to make his Major League debut on Monday against the New York Yankees. On Sunday, the Nats made the move to pave the way for his place on the roster.

On Sunday Washington optioned catcher Riley Adams to Triple-A Rochester, per the MLB transactions wire.

Crews reportedly arrived on Sunday in Washington. He did not play for Rochester on Saturday or Sunday. He last played on Friday, as he went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter for the Red Wings.

Crews follows James Wood, who was promoted last month to make his debut with the Nationals and was, at the time, considered by some to be baseball’s No. 1 prospect.

Crews was Washington’s first-round pick (No. 2 overall) last year out of LSU and was signed to a $9 million signing bonus. He went back-to-back with his Tigers teammate, pitcher Paul Skenes, who went No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was called up in May and is a candidate for National League Rookie of the Year.

He started the season at Double-A Harrisburg and was eventually promoted to Rochester. In 100 games he slashed .270/.342/.451/.793 with 13 home runs and 68 RBI. Along the way, MLB Pipeline ranked him as baseball’s No. 3 prospect. He was also selected to play in the MLB Futures Game in July during All-Star Game weekend.

After he was selected the Nationals got him a head start in the minors as he played for three different affiliates, including Harrisburg in 35 games he slashed .292/.377/.467/.844 with five home runs and 29 RBI.

At LSU he was one of college baseball’s top players, as he was named the Golden Spikes Award winner in 2023, which is given to the game’s top player. He was also named the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in both 2022 and 2023.

In his final season with LSU he batted .426 with 18 homers, 70 RBI and 100 runs as he and Skenes helped lead LSU to the 2023 Men's College World Series championship.

In 2022 he played his first season at center field and he slashed 349/.463/.691 slash line with 22 home runs and 72 RBI, a performance that earned him an invitation to return to play with USA Baseball in the summer.

Crews made waves as a freshman as he broke the program’s home run record for freshmen with 18. He also batted .362 with 42 RBI and 16 doubles. Perfect Game named him the National Freshman of the Year.

Crews withdrew his name from the 2020 MLB Draft coming out of Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Fla., where he played in the Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field in 2019.