Barry Svrluga took the arduous trip down to Fredericksburg to see Nationals prospect Dylan Crews on Thursday night – a double whammy because Crews had an uncharacteristic bad night on top of awful traffic and road conditions.
But just a blip in the road, as Svrluga told the Junkies this story from he got from Nats roving instructor Randy Knorr, who was also in Fredericksburg this week, that he wrote about in Friday’s Washington Post:
“Randy is an unbelievable storyteller, and he told me he was down in West Palm Beach when all the draft picks were there for a simulated game with some rehabbing pitchers before they went out to their affiliates. Randy tells me Crews gets up there against Tanner Rainey, takes a couple, and crushes one to left-center, an easy double. His next at-bat against Carl Edwards, he takes him down the line the other way for another easy double, and in his third at-bat, facing a pitcher from his draft class, he smokes one opposite way to right center-field for three doubles in three swings – and Randy turns to Bobby Henley, another forever Nats coach, and says, ‘well, I guess this kid’s good.’”
Indeed, he has been, as he went 3-for-3 in his lone game in the Florida Complex League and is now slashing .327/.411/.612 with four homers in 11 games at Low-A. He’s likely to move up to High-A Wilmington soon, with possible designs on starting 2024 at Double-A Harrisburg, so Crews is on the fast track – and rightfully so, because he may be the most complete player in the organization right now?
“I asked around, and it’s true – and that’s nothing against anyone. If you’re going to be excited about a team that matched last year’s win total yesterday with 40 games to go is because the prospects are starting to come into their own,” Svrluga said. “Then you add someone like Crews, who is different than guys like Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, who came to the Majors at 18; he’s already 21, and competed at a level similar to the Low-A level he’s at now while in the SEC, and did everything he could at that level.”
Which means, maybe, 2024 sees Crews debut in the show?
“Double-A is the level for prospects, so I wouldn’t put any limits on how soon he could be in the Majors,” Svrluga said. “Everyone down there describes not only his ability, but how complete and professional a ballplayer he is already; he knows how to prepare, how to carry himself and do the small things, and how to recover. There’s a completeness about him at 21 that’s just really impressive.”
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