Washington Nationals Star Rookie Abysmal in This One Area at Plate

There is one area offensively that a star Washington Nationals rookie is failing to produce.

Apr 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews (3) reacts after striking out against the New York Mets during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

There have been a lot of positives for the Washington Nationals in the first month of the 2025 MLB regular season.

The team has to love what they have seen from emerging star left fielder James Wood, who already looks like an All-Star with his incredible combination of power, athleticism and speed packed inside a 6-foot-7 frame.

He isn’t the only young outfielder that the Nationals have high hopes for.

Right fielder Dylan Crews is another player they are hoping will develop into a foundational piece for the franchise to build around.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft made his Big League debut on Aug. 26, 2024. His first taste of the Majors wasn’t overly productive with a .218/.288/.353 slash line with three home runs, five doubles, one triple, eight RBI and 12 stolen bases.

An 81 OPS+ and 0.6 WAR left something to be desired, but the slow start didn’t dim his outlook in any way.

Crews was considered one of the favorites for the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2025 and among the highest-rated prospects in the game.

Oozing with potential, something just hasn’t clicked yet for him.

He got off to a truly brutal start, going 0-for-19 to start the season. Hitting under .100 through his first nine games of the season, it took him a little while to find his groove.

Crews looked to have turned a corner, recording a hit in 12 out of 13 games, including three multi-hit efforts.

But, since that hot streak, he has gone ice cold again. Including Saturday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, he has now gone 17 at-bats without a hit again.

The inconsistencies are something that all young players go through, adjusting to life as a Major Leaguer. Crews is at least making an impact with his base running and fielding, but for him to realize his immense potential, he needs to figure things out with the bat.

His performance overall at the plate has been underwhelming, but arguably the most shocking part of his game right now is that he isn’t performing during times when the team needs him most.

As Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports shared on X, Crews is now 0-for-22 this season with runners in scoring position.

Dylan Crews is now 0-for-22 with RISP this season.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 3, 2025

Even when he was performing at a high level, not being able to get the job done with the opportunity to knock in runs is a concern.

It will be something to keep an eye on, with him producing the most when hitting No. 6 or No. 7 in the order. But if he cannot capitalize when his teammates are on base, he might have to move into the bottom third permanently so that a team that struggles to consistently generate runs isn’t missing out on golden opportunities.