In some more positive news regarding the future of the Washington Nationals and the #1 Prospect in all of baseball, Dylan Crews, the youngster and 2023 #2 overall selection took home an MiLB Gold Glove award last week.
This is obviously an awesome honor for Crews, whose defense in center field across multiple levels of the minors was outstanding this past season. Once being promoted to the majors, he played almost exclusively right field due to the presence of Jacob Young in center field, who was robbed of a Gold Glove award of his own. We saw some tremendous plays from Crews in right field, and it really begs the question of where his future position in the MLB should truly be.
To me, I would have no problem in keeping Young in center field and Crews in right field for the short term, but if you have a chance to bring in a free agent outfielder that would upgrade the lineup, you surely have to take that opportunity, right? Whether the club chooses to go after Anthony Santander, Juan Soto, or maybe even call up an outfielder like Robert Hassell III that likely offers more offensive upside, you'd have to think that Young would be the odd man out in that equation.
If Young was to be the odd man out, the question likely would become whether or not he would be more valuable as a 4th outfielder, or being a potential trade chip. Personally, I would look to see if he could be included in a package to get either some starting pitching help in return or potentially another bat. The thing with Young is that while his defense in center field is arguably the best in baseball, his bat could certainly stand to improve, as his profile as being a singles hitter can be valuable at times due to his speed, but him showing the ability to hit for more gap power would do wonders for him as a player overall.
As of right now, I would keep him on the roster until the Nationals are done making moves in free agency. If the club brings in a guy like Santander, there is a chance that the club looks to play him at either first base or as a designated hitter, meaning that Young's chances in the outfield would be more than expected as of right now. If the club makes a move for someone who could look to get more time in the outfield, perhaps a move for Crews to center and Young to the bench would be in the team's best interests.
MLB's #1 prospect is an @MiLB Gold Glove winner! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zYWDBCxL1g
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) November 4, 2024
Do you think Dylan Crews should be the center fielder for the Nationals next season? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.