Crews, Sykora and Green highlight Nats' 2024 minor league award winners

As the final week of the major league season gets underway, the Nationals took some time this afternoon to honor some of their top minor league players at the conclusion of the season on the farm.

The Nationals today announced the winners of their 2024 minor league awards, with those not already on the major league roster joining the team in D.C. for a pregame ceremony before the series opener against the Royals:

* Hitter of the Year – Dylan Crews
* Pitcher of the Year – Travis Sykora
* Defensive Player of the Year – Elijah Green
* Baserunner of the Year – Darren Baker
* Nationals Way Award – Daylen Lile and Brad Lord

Although Crews, 22, is currently playing every day with the Nationals, the top prospect in the sport, per MLB Pipeline, had a strong season in the minors leading up to his major league promotion.

He finished his 2024 minor league campaign hitting .270 with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBIs, 36 walks, 25 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. He ranked in the top four in Washington’s system in extra-base hits (second, 40), triples (second), slugging percentage (third, .451), OPS (third, .793), RBIs (third), doubles (tied for third), home runs (fourth), average (fourth) and stolen bases (tied for fourth) prior to his big league call-up on Aug. 26.

The No. 2 overall pick out of Louisiana State University in last year’s draft, Crews hit .309 (21-for-68) with a .385 on-base percentage and a .529 slugging percentage in 16 games from Aug. 3-23 before joining Washington. He reached base safely in all 16 of those games and hit safely in 13 of the 16.

Sykora, picked two rounds after Crews in the 2023 MLB Draft, had one of the most impressive debut seasons by a Nationals prospect in recent memory. The six-foot-six right-hander was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year after going 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 27 walks in 85 innings across 20 starts for Single-A Fredericksburg in his first professional season.

Sykora, 20, helped Fredericksburg clinch the Carolina League in the second half and a berth in the league’s Championship Series, where he struck out nine over five shutout innings of one-hit ball in the title-clinching Game 3 victory. In his final eight starts of the regular season, Sykora posted a 1.23 ERA (five earned runs in 36 ⅔ innings) with 61 strikeouts and a 4-0 record. Opponents hit just .156 with no home runs in this span.

“It was cool. Definitely a great first season with the experiences I got to go through,” Sykora said in press conference with the minor league award winners with the media. “Obviously, I stayed healthy. That was the biggest thing. But I was talking the other day, and was just like, to get through your first season, that's one thing. But that's just a baby step, because it was one season, but you want to go through your whole career staying healthy. So it was good to see the hard work pay off. But you gotta keep going.”

Sykora’s strong season helped him rise to the No. 92 prospect in baseball and No. 3 in the Nationals system according to MLB Pipeline, and the No. 97 prospect and No. 4 in the Nationals system according to Baseball America.

Although Green had another tough season at the plate (.208 average, .649 OPS, 206 strikeouts in 106 games), he didn’t let that affect his play in the outfield. He led the Nationals system and ranked ninth among minor league center fielders with a career-high eight assists.

Green, 20, posted a .964 fielding percentage after appearing in a career-high 100 games in center field this season for Fredericksburg. From July 19 to Sept. 5, he cleanly fielded 77 consecutive chances in center and recorded 72 putouts.

“I'd say one word would be, I'd say 'elite,'” Green said of his defense. “And I think one thing that I've continued to work on over the years is my first step. And just continue to read the balls off the bat, read the swings. And just go out there and just know that I'm the center fielder and that I can control a lot of things. And I can control the things around the wall, the balls that come to me. Just go out there being the leader that I am.”

Baker, 25, led the Nats’ system with 38 stolen bases before making his major league debut on Sept. 1. His 38 steals were also the third-most in the International League this season. And he ranked second among Nationals farmhands and tied for 12th in the International League with 70 runs scored prior to his call-up.

Lile, 21, and Lord, 24, received the award given to the Nats minor leaguers who best demonstrate the professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, determination and work ethic required to play the game the “Washington Nationals Way.”

Lile’s season started with a scary moment in spring training when he was carted off the field at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers after flipping over the right-center field wall and taken to a local hospital. But he recovered and hit .262 with 23 doubles, 10 triples, six homers, 45 RBIs, 54 walks, 25 stolen bases and 69 runs scored across 130 games between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg.

“It's truly a blessing because of what happened in spring training,” Lile said. “A lot of people don't know what actually happened, and to be here, sitting up here, talking in front of y'all, and having the season that I had, it was just a blessing. And I can't thank God any more for where I am now today.”

Lord was perhaps the best player development story on the Nats farm. An 18th-round pick in the 2022 Draft out of the University of South Florida, the right-hander finished 10-4 with a 2.43 ERA, 135 strikeouts and 49 walks across 25 starts between Wilmington, Harrisburg and Rochester. He was twice named Eastern League Pitcher of the Month (June and July) and earned one Eastern League Pitcher of the Week award (June 17).

“I would have to say that the biggest thing I've learned is just really learning how to read batters and read the swings,” Lord said. “That's kind of been what really elevated my career this year was taking the mental side of the game.”

That wrapped up a successful season on the farm that saw a lot of positives from the revamped player development staff.

“I'm proud of all these guys,” said Eddie Longosz, the Nationals' assistant general manager for player development and administration. “I think it's a couple of things, a mix. I think, obviously, the guys that got up here, that means everyone in the minor leagues is doing their job and getting players where they should be, because that's the ultimate goal. Winning a championship is awesome. I think winning sometimes gets overlooked. Obviously, you want to develop players. That's the most important thing. But winning is part of the game, too. As you heard from these guys, it makes them more fun and drives them. And pitching development this year has been outstanding. We had a lot of guys progress, some that aren't here as well too, that moved quickly through the system. I'm really proud of how our pitching coaches handled that this year.”