Dylan

Crews

Crews takes a seat with righty Tatsuya Imai taking the ball for Houston in this one. The 24-year-old former second-overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft has shown some real signs of life recently, hitting .228 (26-for-114) with five homers, 15 RBI and four steals over his last 30 games.

It sounds like a precautionary decision since Young was in Washington’s original lineup heading into Saturday’s Independence Day matinee at Nationals Park. It’ll be Dylan Crews taking over in center field with José Tena entering the lineup at DH. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

The walks are notable as drawing free passes has been an issue for the former LSU star this season. However, he’s now up to five homers and five stolen bases in 38 big league games. Crews was optioned to the minors coming out of spring training, and while he has had some nice moments in the majors, he’s still looking to make his mark. He’s playing all over the outfield while mostly hitting 4-6 since the beginning of June.

It somehow appears that Young managed to avoid serious injury during a scary-looking collision with the left-center field wall during Saturday’s contest at Tropicana Field. The 26-year-old takes a seat with Dylan Crews patrolling center field in his place. He’s day-to-day with right side soreness heading into Monday’s series opener against the Phillies.

Crews knocked a base hit and scored a run in the second inning, then later gave the Nats an insurance run with a solo homer off Cam Booser in the ninth. It was the fifth home run of the season for Crews while hitting .198/.236/.366 with 13 runs scored and 15 RBI across 106 plate appearances.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 24-year-old outfielder. Crews has really struggled during his time with the Nats this season, slashing .189/.230/.337 with four homers, 14 RBI and a pair of steals in 100 plate appearances. Jose Tena will function as the team’s designated hitter on Friday night and will bat third against Rays’ right-hander Griffin Jax.

Crews’ home run was his fourth of the year. He hit a three-run shot off Mason Black in the fifth inning. It’s Crews’ second home run in the last four games, but he’s still hitting just .195 with a .595 OPS since being recalled in the middle of May. He’s not worth rostering in most fantasy leagues at this point.

Crews has hit two homers this month, but that’s about all he’s done while getting regular playing time. He’s hitting .189/.241/.324 in 20 games so far. It should be noted that his expected batting average is .258, but those metrics are a little noisy in this small of a sample size. Given how poorly he’s done at the bigs so far in his career, a contending team probably wouldn’t wait this out. The Nationals might be willing to humor it for a while longer though.

Crews’ home run gave the Nationals vital insurance in the moment, extending their lead to 3-1 before they broke it open in the late innings. It was a welcome sight too as his first home run in two weeks with just one other extra-base hit between them. He’s desperately trying to put together any level of consistent major league production and probably should find a way to do so given his pedigree, raw power, and bat-to-ball ability. Swing decisions remain a problem though as he’s walked just once in nearly three weeks of big league action.

Crews is back in right field and hitting sixth following a two-game absence after being hit in the hand by a pitch on the hand. In 43 plate appearances in May, he’s gone just 9-for-41, but he has a 41.1 percent hard-hit rate, 86 percent zone contact rate, and solid exit velocities. His production should come around soon.