Source: Nationals plan to call up Crews on Monday

ATLANTA – The Nationals are calling up Dylan Crews to make his major league debut. Against Juan Soto and the Yankees.

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in last summer’s draft, will be promoted from Triple-A Rochester prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Yankees, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. The 22-year-old outfielder’s first big league game will be a star-studded affair, with fellow top prospect James Wood joining him in the Nats lineup against a Bronx Bombers lineup led by Aaron Judge and former Nationals star Juan Soto.

The news of Crews’ pending promotion, which was first reported by 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen, comes three days prior to his planned debut. That mirrors the timeline the Nats used when promoting Wood to make his debut July 1, also the Monday night opener of a homestand, also against an opponent from New York (the Mets).

Unlike Wood (one of five prospects acquired from the Padres in the August 2022 blockbuster trade for Soto and Josh Bell), Crews hasn’t dominated in the minors this season. He enters Friday night’s game with a solid-but-unspectacular, .272/.343/.456 slash line, 21 doubles, 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 25 steals in 99 total games split between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. But Crews has steadily improved as the season has progressed and over his last 19 games sports a .309/.370/.531 slash line.

It remains to be seen how Crews fits into the Nationals lineup and outfield, but he has most frequently led off for Rochester while playing center field. He has, however, shifted to right field the last two days, and that figures to be his most likely initial position in the majors, with Wood starting in left field and Gold Glove Award candidate Jacob Young in center.

The spotlight was already going to be bright on Nationals Park next week with Soto making his first trip back to D.C. as a member of the Yankees (who acquired him from the Padres over the winter). The Nats’ homegrown star from 2018-22, set to become a free agent after this season, just set a new career high with his 36th homer earlier this week. And his pairing with Judge, who now has 48 homers, makes for the most potent 1-2 offensive punch in baseball right now.

The Nationals can only hope Wood and Crews reach their full potential and compare favorably with Soto and Judge. Wood has already done his part, slashing .289/.379/.458 with five homers and 30 RBIs in his first 45 games in the majors.

Crews, the reigning Golden Spikes Award winner after leading LSU to a national championship last year, joins former college teammate and No. 1 draft pick Paul Skenes of the Pirates – plus No. 3 pick Wyatt Langford of the Rangers – in reaching the majors this season.

Following the three-game interleague series with the Yankees, the Nationals host the Cubs for three games next weekend. They will travel to Pittsburgh for a four-game series Sept. 5-8, setting up the possibility of a Crews-Skenes showdown at PNC Park.

Crews will get five weeks of big league experience this season, and unless he accrues 130 at-bats during that time, he will retain rookie status for 2025. That could be important for the Nationals, who would get a bonus draft pick if he finishes first or second in 2025 National League Rookie of the Year voting.