Two Nationals Outfielders Seen As NL Rookie of the Year Contenders

There were two Washington Nationals outfielders that received votes in 2025 NL Rookie of the Year predictions.

Mar 4, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews (3) catches a fly ball for an out against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have had a rookie favored to be in award contention for a while now, but could another make a surprise push?

The baseball staff over at The Athletic recently came together for their 2025 baseball award predictions.

While heralded Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki is the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year with 15 votes, there were actually two Nationals players who received some attention.

Top prospect Dylan Crews finished second with nine votes, which is not much of a surprise. More shocking, was that outfielder Robert Hassell III tied for fifth place with a single vote.

Crews was the heavy favorite to win it until Sasaki decided to sign with a National League team. The path to the Washington rookie winning it is still fairly clear.

The 23-year-old is one of the top prospects in the sport and is a true five-tool player. He can do a little bit of everything, but will need to do it at a better rate than he did during his first stint.

Crews posted a .218/.288/.353 slash line over 31 games with three home runs and 12 stolen bases. That is far behind award-winning numbers.

In the future, he has 30/30 potential. As a rookie, he just needs to flex that home run power in flashes while remaining aggressive on the basepaths.

He didn't hit a home run during spring training this year, but looked solid otherwise with a .273/.385/.346 slash line. When he can get that power stroke unlocked against Major League pitching, he can really start his ascent.

Switching over to the Hassell selection, much more would need to happen for that to come to fruition. He is a fun pick, though, and could at least end up making a name for himself at some point this year.

He was on a heater this spring with a .370/.408/.544 slash line over 21 games. He had five doubles and a home run. Despite that, he was unable to break camp and will start the year in the minors.

The 23-year-old has had mixed results at the plate over the last few seasons, but is also the healthiest he has been in a while. Since his latest stint in the AFL, his bat has looked closer to what was promised in the Juan Soto trade.

He should get the call up to the Majors at some point.

While it isn't likely that he breaks out into a Rookie of the Year candidate, he could still do enough to win a job for next season.

Given that the Nationals have a young and talented outfield, Hassell could potentially end up as a designated hitter option.