Washington Nationals Will Have High Expectations For Dylan Crews in 2025
The Washington Nationals are getting ready for a big offseason, as their franchise looks to take a big step forward in 2025.
This season, the Nationals were all about developing their young players and taking a step forward as an organization. Washington brought up some very talented players this season, especially in the outfield.
Early in the season, Jacob Young and James Wood got the first calls to make the Majors, and both performed very well. The patience of the organization to not rush their prospects has worked out well, as they let their young players gain experience in the minor leagues before rushing them up.
After seeing success from Wood and Young, the Nationals called up arguably their top prospect, Dylan Crews, in August. Crews was the first-round pick for Washington in 2023, as expectations were high right away after a great career at LSU.
Mark Zuckerman of MASN recently spoke about the potential for the young outfielder and what he could accomplish in 2025.
“2025 outlook: The total numbers from Crews’ first month in the majors weren’t anything to go crazy over, but nobody is the least bit concerned about that right now. As he himself noted, this was an opportunity for him to start to get comfortable in the big leagues, facing big league pitching. And while the results could’ve been better, there was still a lot to like.”
This campaign, the rookie outfielder totaled a .218 batting average, three home runs, eight RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. Like a lot of the other young players on the team, the 23-year-old has shown the elite ability to steal bases.
While the sample size wasn’t massive, there is a lot to like about Crews can bring to the Nationals in 2025. For one, with the addition of the 23-year-old at the end of the season, it appears like Washington has their outfield set for years to come.
The young outfielder has the potential to be an excellent hitter in the league, as he had no problem hitting the fastball this season. However, there was a clear weakness when trying to hit breaking balls, which isn’t uncommon for a young player. That is certainly something that can be worked on this offseason.
Heading into 2025, Crews is going to get the opportunity to be the starting right fielder and, since he didn’t have enough at-bats to qualify as a rookie in 2024, he could be an early Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League heading into next season.
As Washington looks to put the final touches on their rebuild, the development of Crews in 2025 will be a very important thing for the organization.
