Washington Nationals Rookie Sensation Has Figured it Out After Brutal Start

The Washington Nationals seem to have made the right call by letting their young star ride out his struggles.

Apr 22, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews (3) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals earned a big shutout victory on Tuesday night over their struggling regional rival Baltimore Orioles.

As the team continues their hopeful climb back to .500, one player is starting to take center stage after what was a brutal first couple of weeks to the season in his first full year as a big league player.

Dylan Crews entered the year as one of the favorites to win the National League Rookie of the Year with the combination of an elite glove and talented bat, but it didn't pan out that way to start the season.

In fact, Crews looked like he may have to be sent down to Triple-A to try to find his footing and gain some confidence back.

Things came to a head 12 games into the year when the youngster was slashing .116/.156/.116 and as a result was benched for two games in a row, appearing as if a send down was imminent.

Instead, the Nationals kept throwing him out there, and over the last week Crews has rewarded their faith with some incredible play where for the first time he has looked like the star Washington believed he could be.

It began on Saturday with a two home run effort against the Colorado Rockies before Crews had another absolute moonshot on Tuesday night:

Dylan Crews crushes his 3rd home run of the season 429 feet! pic.twitter.com/AOokPJOrDG

— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2025

It goes deeper than just Crews starting to find his power gear, though.

After his blast on Tuesday 23-year-old is currently riding a seven-game hit streak and during the last seven days has slashed .333/.333/.750 with three home runs and five RBI.

Not only has he started to hit, he has been the Nationals best hitter during that period.

Washington is absolutely desperate for him to emerge if they are going to begin to climb out of the basement of the National League East.

Though the team has not made the playoffs in the five years since their first World Series title and finished last place in four of those five years, they also have the youngest roster in baseball and are seen as an up and coming franchise.

Crews is at the center of the entire rebuild and if things weren't going to pan out there, it would be very difficult for fans to be convinced this current core is the answer.

However, if he can continue to hit at the elite level the last week has provided, not only is Crews going to live up to his sky high expectations this year, but the Nationals might have a chance to make some real noise.