Nationals Have Some Tough Decisions To Make Regarding Their Young Outfielders

The Washington Nationals' call-ups in the outfield have been exciting, but what happens when their injured guys come back?

May 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Robert Hassell III in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Just when it felt like Dylan Crews was gaining a little bit of momentum in his offensive development, he went down with a left oblique strain, which caused the Washington Nationals to place him on the injured list.

Outfield prospect Robert Hassell III was called up to replace him and has played solid, slashing .250/.250/.344 entering Saturday's action.

Jacob Young, who was slashing .227/.309/.282, went down with a left shoulder sprain just days later, and outfield prospect Daylen Lile was called up to replace him.

Lile has slashed .143/.174/.190.

Young is expected to return some time in June, but the timeline for Crews is not quite as clear. Both will eventually come back and playing time will have to be distributed one way or another.

Crews is viewed as an essential part of the team's future despite his slow start to 2025, so he will get playing priority once he returns.

The way it looks now, even though Lile is the slightly higher-rated prospect in the Nationals' farm system compared to Hassell (No. 9 and No. 11, respectively), Hassell has been performing far better than Lile and would likely get the right-of-way should one have to be sent down.

But things start to get tricky between Hassell and Young.

Hassell's slash line has looked better than Young's in his brief stint at the Major League level, but Young made the team out of camp. And it feels like it has to be one of them to get knocked a peg with Alex Call having a solid season slashing .267/.380/.362.

Washington has also done better as a team since Hassell's May 22 debut, going 5-3 while scoring eight or more runs in four of those wins.

It will be a tough call for Dave Martinez, who should do whatever it takes to keep the Nationals' recent offensive momentum going, including something as simple as continuity.