What can we expect from Dylan Crews' MLB Debut on Monday?

In case you've been living under a rock, Dylan Crews is less than 48 hours away from officially making his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals. Although the Nationals have admittedly been pretty difficult to watch recently, this series against the Yankees adds a whole new level of intrigue with Crews getting his first taste of big league action.

Funny enough, this news came just 5 days after I predicted in my article last week that Monday, the 26th day of August, in the year 2024, would be an incredible date for him to debut in front of a likely sellout crowd at Nationals Park. There are a number of reasons, but to save you from having to read through my entire article, here is an excerpt below of my own words from my article last week.

As mentioned, the game comes with storylines galore, as Crews, the second overall selection in last year's draft out of LSU, will be reunited with James Wood, with whom he shared an outfield in the minor leagues, and together are expected to form 2/3 of the future outfield for the Nationals as they move back towards contention.

As to who the third outfielder could be in that mix? Look no further than a very familiar, beloved friend and Nats legend, who will actually be in the opposing dugout for the series with the Yankees. No, I am not talking about Trent Grisham, although with the way he missed that ball in the 2019 Wild Card Game, you would've thought he was affiliated with the Nats in some capacity...(if you're reading this Trent, I'm sorry.) In fact, I'm actually talking about the man who delivered that clutch hit which propelled the Nationals into their magical title run, Juan Soto.

While an article about Soto's upcoming free agency will certainly be coming in the offseason, the rumblings have already begun that perhaps a reunion between Soto and the Nats could be coming this offseason, and it's hard to not be enamored with the prospect of a potential Soto-Crews-Wood outfield for the next decade. I know many Nats fans out there have already had the same delusional thoughts that I've had in thinking he could come back, the fantasies got even more real when former Nat Mark DeRosa discussed Washington as a "Dark Horse Contender" in the impending Soto sweepstakes. Here's the clip below if you haven't seen it.

However, Monday's game is not solely all about Soto's presence in Nationals Park for the first time this season, or the fact that it could potentially be an audition for the organization to showcase a lot of their young talent that they've been able to bring in since his departure. There are other storylines too, as the Yankees also have this other guy who's not too shabby himself named Aaron Judge, maybe you've heard of him? He's currently looking to break his own single-season home run record of 62 that he set back in 2022, and it doesn't appear as if any team has been able to figure him out this season. He currently sits at 49 homers entering Sunday's action, and there's a very real possibility that he hits his 50th to a lucky fan sitting somewhere in the outfield during his Yankees' 3-game stint in DC.

But yes, the main storyline and the ones Nationals fans will care about the most is Dylan Crews making his MLB debut. Since being the second overall pick in last year's draft, the growth and development of Dylan Crews has been unique. He was good, not great, with AA Harrisburg, before heating up to earn a promotion to AAA Rochester, where he has been able to continue his hot hitting and ultimately has earned the right to get his first chance in the show.

Since the calendar turned to August, Crews has been a man on a mission. He has a .289/.356/.513 slash line with an .869 OPS to go along with 4 homers, 14 RBI's, 5 stolen bases, and some stellar defense in center field. His recent torrid stretch included his first AAA 4-hit game, where he even stole 2 bases as well. Recently, he has been showing off all the tools that made him such a hot commodity when the Nats took him with the second pick in last year's draft, and Monday night will be his first chance to showcase all of his abilities.

As for his opposition in his first career game, it appears as if it is lining up to be veteran lefty Nestor Cortes on the bump for the Yankees against Mitchell Parker for the Nationals. Crews has oddly struggled against left-handed pitching in the minors this year, with just a .218/.333/.295 slash line with a .628 OPS against lefties in 78 at-bats with only 1 homer and 11 RBI's. However, he has walked 12 times against them while striking out just 14 times, so it appears as if he doesn't struggle to see lefties, but perhaps just making solid contact against them could be an issue so far.

On the flip side, Cortes has been inconsistent the last two seasons, as he is still trying to recapture his form that made him an All-Star back in 2022. His line this season includes a 7-10 record, 4.00 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP. After a brutal month of July that saw him pitch to a 6.93 ERA over 5 starts, he has completely turned the page in August, going 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA over 3 starts this month, and both of his last 2 outings have been 7-inning gems where he has not allowed a run or walked a batter. However, context is important, as those starts came against the Chicago White Sox, currently on track to finish as one of the worst teams in MLB history, and the Cleveland Guardians, whose offensive struggles since the All-Star break have been mind-blowing. The outing before his last 2 was against the Angels where he allowed 6 earned runs on 9 hits and couldn't even finish the the 5th inning. Additionally, Cortes has allowed righties to bat .261/.298/.459 with a .757 OPS and 19/21 homers he's surrendered this year, against him.

Basically, there's no predicting what will happen in this matchup, as Cortes has struggled against righties and Crews has struggled against lefties, but I'm willing to bet on the youngster to get the best of the veteran at some point in his debut on Monday. While I went bold on my James Wood debut prediction back in June, I'll be a little bit more realistic with my statline prediction for Dylan Crews. I'll say he goes 1/4 with a single, strikeout, and his first stolen base. The single will send shockwaves of electricity throughout the ballpark similar to how it did when Wood got his first knock, but I think the firepower of the Yankees lineup will be a tough matchup for Mitchell Parker, and the Nats will drop this one 5-2 in front of a near-sellout crowd at Nationals Park.

How do you think Dylan Crews will fare in his MLB Debut? Will he have a big-time moment? Or will Juan Soto and Aaron Judge steal the show on Monday night? As always, please let me know your thoughts on X, @DCBerk.

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