Washington Nationals Need Talented Top Prospect To Find Consistency

The Washington Nationals need their top prospect to find some consistency going forward.

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

It has been a bit of an inconsistent season so far for the Washington Nationals, but the team has shown some positive signs.

Coming into the year, the main goal for the Nationals was to see improvement in the win column and have their young talent continue to develop.

So far, Washington hasn’t seen a massive increase in their winning percentage, but a lot of that can be contributed to the struggles of the bullpen. Had the unit been better, they might be around closer to .500 with improvements from the lineup and starting rotation.

However, while an improved win total is important, the team really wants to make sure that their high-level prospects are improving.

So far, James Wood has had a breakout start to the year. The young slugger has already matched his home run total from last campaign and it heading toward being an All-Star.

Unfortunately, another player the team has high hopes for, Dylan Crews, has struggled quite a bit.

"Crews looked lost early, going 5-for-47 with zero extra-base hits to start. Then came a two-week splurge with four homers and a 1.026 OPS over 13 outings. He's 1-for-21 since. More than anything, Crews needs to get off the roller coaster and enjoy a nice, prolonged run of good, solid consistency," wrote Bradford Doolittle of ESPN (subscription required).

The former No. 2 overall pick came into the season as one of the favorites to win the National League Rookie of the Year.

Unfortunately, after one month, that appears unlikely.

Crews got his feet wet in the Majors at the end of the last campaign, which figured to help him know what to expect for this season. However, he has been very inconsistent so far, which isn’t uncommon for a young player.

Entering play Tuesday, he's slashed .197 /.248/.325 with four home runs, six RBI and nine stolen bases.

Despite batting under the Mendoza line, he does have an eight-game hitting streak to his credit this campaign. But after closing out April strong and seeing his slash line go to .231/.263/.396 on the 27th of the month, he has since hit another slump.

Hopefully, Crews can develop into the type of player he can be and give Washington another future star like they were expecting when they drafted him.