Could Dylan Crews Be Unleashed by This New Nationals Regime?
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It feels strange to operate this offseason with Dylan Crews being an afterthought for the Washington Nationals. But that's the reality of the situation.
The former No. 2 overall pick has not had the MLB career he or anyone else expected thus far, as he went from being mentioned as a possible National League Rookie of the Year winner entering this past season to the third guy talked about in the Nationals' own outfield.
That is a tough pill to swallow, especially because it looked like Washington had drafted a surefire star out of LSU when they selected him in 2023. That's not to say anyone is giving up on Crews. He's far too talented for that to take place at this stage of his career. However, it's also safe to say there is a lot more he needs to show in the majors before he can be considered a cornerstone of this team.
Will New Nationals Regime Maximize Dylan Crews?
The good news is Crews is getting a fresh start with the new Nationals regime that has been installed. Not only is president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office forward-thinking when it comes to player development, but manager Blake Butera has that background as well and seems to be getting a staff around him that is on the advanced end of the analytics spectrum.
For Crews, that could be a huge thing for his career. And it's why Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball highlighted the outfielder as one of three players who "could thrive" under the new regime.
"Right now the biggest problem for Crews is his angles. He is hitting too many ground balls and not pulling the ball in the air enough to unlock his power. Crews has a GB% over 50%, which is much higher than you would like. Last season Crews also ran into whiff problems, which were unusual for him. ... Crews looked very uncomfortable at the plate. However, the tools are still there. Crews hits the ball hard and has good bat speed. I think he is waiting to be unlocked by the right hitting coach," Sallick wrote.
See. You. Later.
— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2025
Dylan Crews makes it a six-run @Nationals inning 💪 pic.twitter.com/ngMzKu7LxQ
There's no doubt the trajectory of the Nationals changes if Crews can become a real player in 2026. That would give them a three-headed offensive monster in the outfield with him playing alongside James Wood and Daylen Lile.
But getting to that point will be key for Crews, as he has put together an underwhelming .211/.282/.352 slash line and OPS+ that's 21 points below the league average of 100 across 116 career major league contests.
Still, like said above, it's way too early to give up on the 23-year-old. He was a premier college player and has shown flashes in the bigs at times. He just needs to put it all together and become a consistent offensive threat.
Hopefully that takes place in 2026. And with the new regime in place, there is optimism to think that could happen for Crews.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai