The Seminole County/Washington Nationals connection added another chapter on Monday as Lake Mary High School and Sanford River Rats product Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU, was called up to Washington on Monday and played right field for Manager Davy Martinez, the Lake Howell High School graduate, and the Nationals against the New York Yankees.
The former Ram went 0-for-3 in his debut, flying out to right, drawing a walk, striking out and grounding out in Washington’s 5-2 setback to the Bronx Bombers.
Crews is the latest player/coach with Seminole County ties to join the Organization, following Seminole High School Hall of Famer Tim Raines (when the club was the Montreal Expos), former Sanford River Rats Manager Davey Johnson, Seminole High’s Rick Eckstein (Hitting Coach) and Martinez.
The Nationals organization announced the selection of Crews’ contract on Sunday. In a corresponding move, Washington optioned catcher Riley Adams to Triple-A Rochester. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
The No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com, Crews hit .270 with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBI, 36 walks, 25 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season. He ranks among Nationals full-season Minor Leaguers in extra-base hits (2nd, 40), triples (2nd, 6), slugging percentage (3rd , .451), OPS (3rd, .793), RBI (3rd, 68), doubles (T3rd, 21), home runs (4th, 13), average (4th, .270) and stolen bases (T4th, 25).
According to Baseball America, Crews is the No. 4 prospect in baseball, the “Best Defensive Outfielder” in the International League and the “Best Hitter for Average” in Washington’s Minor League system. He was promoted to Triple-A Rochester on June 18 and represented the Nationals in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game in July.
The 22-year-old Crews joins the Nationals after hitting .309 (21-for-68) with a .385 on-base percentage (5 BB, 4 HBP) and a .529 slugging percentage (2B, 3B, 4 HR) in 16 games since Aug. 3. He reached base safely in all 16 games and has hit safely in 13 of the 16.
Crews made his professional debut in 2023, hitting .292 with nine doubles, five homers, 29 RBI, 14 walks, four stolen bases and 26 runs scored in 35 games between the FCL Nationals, Single-A Fredericksburg and Double-A Harrisburg. He was named Carolina League Player of the Week in his first week in the league after going 12-for-29 (.414) with two doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI in six games.
In three seasons at Louisiana State University, Crews became one of the most accomplished and decorated players in the history of college baseball. In addition to leading LSU to the 2023 National Championship, he was a consensus First-Team All-American in 2023 and 2022 and became the first player to win Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in back-to-back-seasons (2022, 2023).
Crews hit .426/.567/.713 with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 70 RBI, 71 walks, 46 strikeouts, six stolen bases and 100 runs scored in 71 games as he helped lead LSU to its seventh national championship in 2023. He reached base safely in all 71 of his collegiate games in 2023, a streak that extended to 75 games dating back to the end of the 2022 season.
A native of Altamonte Springs, Crews graduated from Lake Mary High School where he was a four-year letter winner. Following his senior season, he was the No. 13 ranked high school player in the country according to Perfect Game and eventually became the highest ranked player to attend college. In 2019, he participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic and the was an Under Armour All-American. Crews was a Team USA 14U and 18U Gold Medal Winner and a member of the 2021 Collegiate National Team. He was teammates with CJ Abrams and fellow 2023 Nationals draft pick Yohandy Morales on the 2018 18U team.
