Will Dylan Crews make his MLB Debut in 2024?

Since their 9-run outburst last Tuesday against the Orioles that led to a surprising win against their Beltway Series rival, the Washington Nationals have been simply overmatched offensively, being outscored 25-7 over their last 4 games, all of which have been losses. With this being the latest low in a season of many lows at the plate for the Nats, I decided to take a look at when we could see last year's #2 overall draft pick, Dylan Crews, make his MLB debut and hopefully provide life to a sinking offense.

For starters, I want to be open and honest with my thoughts on Dylan Crews based on what we've seen since he was drafted last year. He has definitely been good, with a career MiLB line of .272/.349/.453 with a .802 OPS in 131 career minor league games. He also has chipped in 17 homers, 91 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases to go along with some really solid defense in center field across multiple levels, as he has made appearances at every level of the minor leagues except for High-A Wilmington, a notoriously difficult park for minor leaguers in the Nats system to perform well in.

While Crews has been good, I don't know if you could say he has been great. Known for his outstanding bat-to-ball and on-base skills at LSU, he has struck out 123 times while walking just 48 times so far. This is not a reason to panic, however, as since his promotion to AAA Rochester in mid-July, he has already drawn more walks in his 45 games in Rochester than he did in his 51 games with AA Harrisburg, as well as surpassing his home run total, already slugging 7 compared to the 5 he had this season before his promotion. Although there are some question marks to his prospect profile as a whole, I am still a firm believer that Crews will be a star and franchise cornerstone, and should at the worst be a serviceable everyday player in the MLB.

What hasn't helped his case overall is the fact that last year's #3 pick out of the University of Florida, outfielder Wyatt Langford, absolutely dominated Spring Training and found himself in the Opening Day lineup for the defending champion Texas Rangers. However, Langford's rookie season has been one that has endured a lot of growing pains, with a slash line of just .241/.309/.367, good for a .676 OPS and just 7 homers in 98 games. While he hasn't been bad, he also hasn't exactly set the world on fire the way many anticipated he would after reaching the majors following just 44 career minor league games. Crews and Langford will forever be joined at the hip as the first two position players drafted last year, with both being decorated SEC outfielders. However, in my opinion it is pretty clear to see that Langford was rushed to the majors, and likely could have benefitted from spending more time in the minor leagues. Crews hasn't yet reached the majors yet, but the hope from the Nats is that he is able to hit the ground running once he makes his debut, and hopefully will be able to lessen the learning curve upon his arrival.

Finally, to answer the question that inspired this article of "When will Dylan Crews make his MLB debut?" I believe he will debut in DC by the end of the season. Currently, the AAA regular season is set to end on September 22nd, however, MLB rosters also expand to 28 players from 26 beginning on September 1st, as part of the league's "September Call-Ups" phase. As of right now, the Nats have their outfield set with a left to right setup of James Wood, Jacob Young, and Alex Call, with Travis Blankenhorn serving as the 4th outfielder. With all due respect to Call and Blankenhorn, neither of them seem to fit into the long-term picture with this team, and while Call has been making the most of potentially his final chance to prove he belongs in the MLB, the same can't be said for Blankenhorn, with the outfielder looking more and more like the dreaded 4A player (too good for the minor leagues, not good enough for the majors).

I would look for Crews to debut before the end of the season, and potentially even before the end of August. The way the team made news of Wood's promotion to the MLB public multiple days before it happened would likely be similar to how they would handle the arrival of Crews, with the team wanting to pack the ballpark to build anticipation for the future of the franchise. As for a date I would keep an eye on? Monday, August 26th, at Nats Park with the New York Yankees, led by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto coming to town. It seems like the perfect time to pack the park with Nats fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the future, with Crews, Wood, CJ Abrams, and other future pieces in the lineup against former Nats legend Juan Soto. Yankees fans travel well, and the opportunity to potentially sell out the stadium for a series against baseball's most notable franchise seems like a great opportunity.

If this doesn't happen, I would look for Crews to potentially be called up during the roster expansion phase beginning on September 1st. It would give him time to get his feet wet in the MLB, and set him up to break camp with the Nats next season, as the Nats will hopefully be seeking to turn the page and take a step towards becoming a force to be reckoned with once again. Calling him up this late in the year should allow him to retain rookie status for next season, hopefully being able to perform well and win Rookie of the Year, and award the team with a high draft pick after the first round as part of MLB's new incentives.

When do you think Dylan Crews will debut with the Nats? Do you think we see him against the Yankees? Do you think we see him in September? Or do you think he won't debut until 2025? I'm very curious to know what everyone reading this thinks, and as always, please let me know your thoughts on X, @DCBerk.

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