In the 2023 MLB Draft when the Washington Nationals selected LSU's Dylan Crews fresh off a National Championship, Golden Spikes Award, and SEC Player of the Year honors, vibes were at an all time high. What was supposed to be the safe bet, the most "big league ready" hitter in a draft filled with elite talent has not panned out the way anyone has hoped. The guy that was supposed to bridge the gap between the Soto era and the next World Series parade in our nation's capital has been disappointing to put it lightly.
After a 2025 season that amounted to a .208 BAVG and leading all right fielders in errors, it's time to stop sugarcoating it: The Dylan Crews honeymoon is officially over, and it is almost time for alarm bells to be going off.
The floor for Crews coming out of college was his biggest selling point. Unlike a player like Elijah Green for example, Crews was supposed to be the high OBP, polished, professional hitter that would cruise to an easy .800 OPS. Instead, what we have seen at the big league level has been a player that looks overmatched and even lost at times against major league breaking balls. Perhaps more alarming, the all-around stud through all of his years at powerhouse LSU fell off the face of a cliff.
With Paul Skenes winning a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year and Wyatt Langford slotting right into the centerpiece of the Rangers lineup, Crews is struggling to stay above the Mendoza line. Taking a look around the league at the 2023 draft class, it is hard to not feel like the Nats might have taken the wrong guy.
The most controversial part of the Crews conversation doesn't even lie within his own struggles. It's the face that he is being outplayed by a guy that most fans hadn't even heard of a year ago.
Daylen Lile didn't just play well in 2025, he was the spark plug that the Nats needed. He was more productive, more consistent, and as a result, more exciting than the former No. 2 overall pick. When your "generational" prospect is being pushed for playing time by a former second round pick coming off surgery, there isn't a depth problem, you have a star problem.
Paul Toboni didn't draft Dylan Crews. He has no attachment to the "Soto trade era" optics or the previous regime's draft board. If Crews doesn't show a massive leap in plate discipline and prove he is more defensively sound this spring, Toboni won't think twice about prioritizing the players who produce.
The Nationals rebuild hinges on their top 5 draft picks turning into superstars. James Wood has held up his end of the bargain and looks like a legitimate future MVP candidate. CJ Abrams has shown his flashes as well. If Dylan Crews is just a "solid 4th outfielder", this rebuild doesn't just slow down, it sputters out completely.
It is time to stop talking about Crews' "potential" and start demanding the production that a No. 2 overall pick warrants. Anything subpar is just yet another setback for a franchise that needs to take the next step forward. Fortunately for Crews, he has a new coaching staff that should help him with his approach, as the Nationals are looking to actually be coached like a modernized big league team for the first time in years.