Dylan Crews among Washington Nationals' 2024 MiLB Award Winners

On Tuesday, the Washington Nationals announced their 2024 Minor League Award winners, which are intended to reward some of the organization's top talent at all levels of the minors for their contributions for their season. With that being said, who were the winners?

Defensive Player of the Year: OF Elijah Green - WSH #21 Prospect

Although Elijah Green has struggled at the plate since being taken with the 5th overall pick back in the 2022 Draft, he has showcased 4 of his 5 tools to be very loud and promising, and he is legitimately a hit tool away from being a very highly ranked prospect. With a 60 grade fielding and arm grade, it is no surprise that Green finds himself being rewarded for his outstanding defensive prowess, patrolling centerfield at a high level for the Carolina League Champion Fredericksburg Nationals.

Pitcher of the Year: RHP Travis Sykora - WSH #3 Prospect, MLB #92

This one should come as no surprise, as the guy who I dubbed as potentially being the next Paul Skenes back in August, Travis Sykora, was absolutely dominant this season. Led by his 70-grade fastball, Sykora was a reliable electric factory every 5th game for the FredNats this year, and finished with a whopping 129 strikeouts in 85.0 innings. He was recently moved into the Top 100 rankings across the entire league, and should only see his stock rise next year.

Hitter of the Year: OF Dylan Crews - WSH #1 Prospect, MLB #1

Already pushing to be the next face of the franchise, outfielder Dylan Crews took home the Hitter of the Year award down on the farm for the Nats. In an even 100 games in the minors this year, Crews accumulated a .270/.342/.451 slash line with a .793 OPS to go along with 13 homers and 68 RBIs. He has somewhat struggled since being promoted to the majors, but baseball's new #1 overall prospect should be the favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year in 2025.

Baserunner of the Year: 2B/CF Darren Baker

One of the Nats' two September call-ups, Darren Baker won the baserunner of the year award for the system. For the season, he stole 38 bases while only being caught 5 times in 112 games for the AAA Rochester Red Wings, and his recent hot start since being promoted to the show has fans wondering what his role will look like next season and beyond. Dusty Baker's son should have a role in some capacity with the big league club moving forward.

Nationals Way Award: OF Daylen Lile - WSH #12

The first of two winners of the "Nationals Way" Award, presented to the organization's Minor Leaguers who best demonstrate the professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, determination and work ethic required to play the game the "Washington Nationals Way," we have outfielder Daylen Lile. This award feels like an accurate way to describe Lile, who has seen his stock rise this year and even saw him earn a promotion up to AA Harrisburg. He should potentially earn a promotion to the majors as early as next season, and could play his way into the outfield of the future for the big league club along with James Wood and Dylan Crews.

Nationals Way Award: RHP Brad Lord - WSH #30

For the final award winner and the second winner of the Nationals Way Award, we have righty starter Brad Lord, the team's #30 prospect. Although already being 24-years-old and not possessing any real flashy pitches, Lord is just a straight up good pitcher. He reminds me a lot of Tanner Roark in that he likely profiles as a back-end rotation member at the big league level, and just shows up every 5th day and competes. Lord began the year at High-A Wilmington, and ended the year with AAA Rochester, showcasing his ability to get guys out and put his team in a great position to win. He should make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, and I'm curious to see what his ceiling will be at the next level.

Which of these MiLB Award Winners are you most excited to see with the Nationals in the future? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MiLB.com and MLB.com.