Dylan Crews is now the #1 Prospect in Baseball

As of yesterday, the Washington Nationals now have the #1 overall prospect in baseball, outfielder Dylan Crews. This news comes as no surprise, as with the graduation from Prospect Status of Jackson Holliday from the Baltimore Orioles and Junior Caminero from the Tampa Bay Rays, Crews was expected to step into the this position after MLB adjusted their prospect rankings a couple months ago following the 2024 MLB Draft.

The Nationals, whose farm system has increased drastically throughout the last couple seasons, now have the honor of having the top prospect in the sport, and their first homegrown prospect to grasp the top spot since outfielder Bryce Harper, who alternated between 1 and 2 with lefty Matt Moore before the 2012 season.

Of course, Crews is already in the MLB, and has made an impact on the club in just a short period of time with 14 games under his belt total. In his cup of coffee with the big league club, he has a slash line of .222/.295/.444 with a .739 OPS, and has showcased all 5 of his highly-graded tools that have him ranked now as the top prospect in the sport.

In just 61 plate appearances so far, Crews has 12 hits, with 3 of them being homers, 7 RBIs, and an 11:6 K:BB ratio to go along with 5 stolen bases. There have obviously been some growing pains for the 22-year-old #2 overall draft pick from last year, as evidenced by his .220 BABIP, which stands for Batting Average on Balls In Play. For reference, the MLB average BABIP is .300, meaning that Crews has been a recipient of bad luck, which should allow him some room for positive growth next season.

The one thing I have been very impressed with from Crews is the fact that he succeeds by pulling the ball. All 3 of his homers have been pulled to left field, and that is clearly the area of the outfield where he is able consistently tap in and put the ball over the fence. Truly, Crews has some beautiful swing mechanics which gives me a lot of hope that he will be successful for a long time in the MLB. For instance, take a look at the video below and watch how little his head moves. This is something that a lot of young players struggle with, but it's clear that for now Crews does not have issue with.

In terms of those tools I mentioned that have made Crews the top prospect in the sport? He has a 60-grade overall and a 60-grade for both his hit, power, and run tools, as well as a 55-grade for both his arm and fielding grades. His overall well-rounded profile has had my consistent comparison for him to be similar to Andrew McCutchen, a Nat-killer most known for his long and successful career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. If Crews ends up being anywhere near as successful as McCutchen, the 2013 MVP, then he will have exceeded all expectations, and will be a franchise cornerstone for many years to come.

It is important to note that Crews is expected to retain Prospect Status for next season, meaning that he will be eligible to win Rookie of the Year in the National League in 2025, and likely will be considered the front-runner going into next season. This is especially big for the Nats' draft in 2026, as per the new CBA agreement, the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) will reward the organization with a high draft pick likely just after the first round completes. The only way Crews would fail to retain Prospect Status next season would be if he eclipses 130 at-bats before the end of the season. This appears unlikely as he would need to have 76 more at-bats in just 17 games, which would be an average of almost 4.5 at-bats per game, which seems unlikely. The organization is definitely aware of this threshold, and there is virtually no way in which they'd let him lose that status before Opening Day 2025.

What do you think of Dylan Crews becoming the #1 Prospect in Baseball? Will he win NL Rookie of the Year in 2025? As always, please let me know your thoughts on X, @DCBerk.

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