Crews completes young trio atop Nats lineup in debut

The day has finally come for Dylan Crews’ major league debut. After James Wood reached the big leagues for the first time on July 1, the Nationals’ newest top prospect will play his first game in a curly W cap tonight against the Yankees.

And if you take a look at manager Davey Martinez’s lineup for the opener of a three-game set against the American League East leaders (and Juan Soto), there’s a lot to be excited about at the top.

CJ Abrams, Crews and Wood will bat in the first three spots in the order, respectively, making the top portion of the lineup filled with three of the organization’s young cornerstone pieces.

“We're facing a left-handed pitcher,” Martinez said during his pregame media session in a jam-packed press conference room at Nationals Park. “It just made sense to put him in between Abrams and Wood. So kind of exciting to see those three together. We've been waiting a little while, but I really believe that this is another piece to the puzzle and to our future. So I'm excited for the kid and his family. We're all excited here. I know Nats fans should be excited. But he's one of 26. That's what I told him today: Go out there, play, have fun, be where your feet are, and let's go try to win a game and go 1-0.”

Crews hit .270 with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBsI, 36 walks, 25 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season. But he was on a tear at Triple-A leading up to his promotion to the big leagues.

He joins the Nationals after hitting .309 (21-for-68) with a .385 on-base percentage (five walks, four hit-by-pitches) and a .529 slugging percentage (a double, a triple, four homers) in 16 games since Aug. 3. He reached base safely in all 16 games, collecting a hit in 13 of them.

“Just really controlling the zone,” Crews said of his impressive numbers over the past three weeks. “I think as a year goes on, too, I tend to get a little bit better, just based off of history and in college and even high school ball. As a year goes on, I tend to get a little bit better. So August came around and I was seeing the ball great. I was just able to put up some good numbers. Just trying to capitalize on it and trying to carry it over here.”

If he carries it over here, he’ll be a jolt into a Nats offense that has struggled to consistently put up crooked numbers.

“His ability to do everything,” Wood said of what excites him about sharing the field with Crews. “I think he's a five-tool player, so just seeing him help the team win in all sorts of different ways.”

“I think we're gonna score a lot of runs,” Abrams said. “Getting on and passing it to the next guy. Three good players right there. We're gonna show that.”

Crews has shown the unique ability to elevate his game to the level of his opposition. He did it at LSU while leading the Tigers to a national championship. He did it in his first taste of professional baseball, reaching Double-A in a couple of weeks. And he did it this year after a few rough first weeks at Rochester.

“I think so, too, yeah,” Crews said. “Going to college, too, playing in the SEC and everything, going to the College World Series, you kind of have to step up your game a little bit and see what you're made of. And I think it did a pretty good job of that. So we'll see how it goes here.”

“The biggest thing was he was really getting to the fastballs,” Martinez said of what showed him that Crews is ready to play in the majors every day. “Earlier in spring training, we saw he was a little late. He made some adjustments. He was really starting to get to the fastballs and staying back a little bit better. But from day one, I really loved his approach. He's aggressive and that's awesome. So one, getting ready to hit the fastball. Two is not chasing. We know he's got a good eye. He'll take his walks, so he’s got to continue to do that.”

While Crews and Wood join the Nats as two of the most highly touted prospects in the sport, they are different players. The 5-foot-11 Crews doesn’t really stand up to the 6-foot-7 Wood in stature. And although Crews cleared the visitor’s bullpen in left field during batting practice, he doesn’t have the natural power his fellow outfielder does.

But they both do a lot of things well. And they both can help the Nats win over the last five weeks of the season and in the years to come.

“I think just all together, we're completely different players,” Wood said. “I think there are a lot of things we do differently, but there are a lot of things that we both do very well. So just looking forward to seeing that and just sharing the field with him.”

That will start tonight in Crews’ debut. All eyes will be on the Nats’ top three batters, but the No. 2 hitter will certainly command a lot of attention. Martinez hopes his newest young player soaks it all in, but stays within himself.

“Nothing changes here,” the skipper said of his pregame message to Crews. “I know you had a routine down there (Triple-A). Stick to your routine and just go play baseball. Once the game starts, you're just one of eight guys in the lineup and just go play.”