Washington Nationals Potential Breakout Star Named This Season's X-Factor

The Washington Nationals have a group of young talent, but this particular player, to some, is the team's X-factor for the 2025 season.

Feb 23, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Dylan Crews (3) reaches third base after hitting a triple against the New York Mets during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The talented young core of the Washington Nationals will soon be back on the field in meaningful games soon as spring training comes to a close. 

Despite five straight losing seasons, the Nationals have reason to be optimistic heading into this campaign that things are going to be better. 

Last season, Washington began to see some of the young talent that they have been stockpiling over the past several years finally get to the Majors and make an impact. 

In their infield, CJ Abrams was able to make his first All-Star team after a great first half of the season. Also, Luis Garcia Jr. proved that he can also be an All-Star caliber player. 

This winter, the goal of the organization was to surround the young core with some veteran help in the lineup, and they have appeared to accomplish that with a few additions. 

Bringing in players like Nathaniel Lowe, Paul DeJong, Josh Bell, and Amed Rosario will help provide more talent and depth to the lineup heading into 2025 as the young players continue to grow. 

There are a lot of reasons to believe that this lineup could be special, but they will need some of their young talent to continue to improve. 

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the biggest X-factor for the Nationals heading into the season being their young outfielder, Dylan Crews. 

“It's his pure talent that makes him stand out, and the Nats will need it to blossom in order to avoid a fifth straight season of 90-plus losses," he wrote.

While it wasn’t a great start to his career at the end of the 2024 campaign, Crews was able to gain experience which provides value for his development. 

In the Majors last season, he slashed .218/.288/.353 with three home runs and 12 stolen bases. However, he was a much different player in the minors prior to being called up. 

Prior to the promotion, Crews slashed .270/.342/.451 with 13 home runs and 25 stolen bases. 

With the unique ability to perform with both power and speed, the 23-year-old can be a special type of talent for Washington. 

Even though the Nationals might not be able to contend for a playoff spot even if things go well, they do likely want to get to the .500 mark in 2025. 

So far this spring, Crews has done what a franchise would like to see from someone that they have high expectations of. 

In spring training, he has slashed .346/.433/.423 with seven runs scored and three stolen bases. 

If Crews can be a rookie of the year candidate in the National League, it will immensely help the team in 2025. Even though he is still inexperienced, he certainly appears to be an X-factor for the team.