Nats GM Mike Rizzo did tell Grant & Danny that nothing is off the table in terms of prospects making the team – and while it’s probably still a stretch for Dylan Crews to go from No. 2 pick to on the 26-man in less than a year, maybe never say never.
Still, a huge experience to not only be in big league camp, but to also feel like he belongs.
“It feels great. Everybody here has been very welcoming, and it's been a pretty smooth transitioning coming in here,” Crews told G&D Monday. “It feels natural being in there and feels very comfortable being in there, and I think that all goes back to what the vets are doing, making everyone feel like everybody is welcome and not feeling like they're overpowering the younger guys or something like that. It feels like a great locker room and energy is great, chemistry is there, so it's been great so far.”
Crews went from College World Series to draft hoopla to Double-A in the span of about 90 days, so 2023 was a bit of a whirlwind, and this is a new experience, too – but now, it’s just about Crews, the baseball player, and his development.
“I don't feel like I'm trying to prove anything at all, just going out there and being myself every day. I look at it as like pressure is a privilege – if you're feeling some type of pressure, then it's a good thing,” Crews said. “I see it as like I deserve to have pressure. It's been a long and fun journey, so I just soak it all in and embrace it every day.”
Crews still has a lot to develop and time to do it, but he feels like his ‘sixth tool’ of baseball instincts is his best quality that will help him get there.
“Just having that sense of knowing what's gonna happen before the play is even happening, I think that's huge for a player, and overlooked at times,” Crews said.
So, too, is coming from an LSU program where, just as Matt Simms told BMitch & Finlay that potential Commanders No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels played in pro-style atmosphere, Tigers baseball had players go 1-2 last summer and a pipeline of others right behind them.
“That’s 100 percent, and part of the reason why I wanted to go there,” Crews said. “The fan base there, you're gonna have 10 to 13,000 people there, a packed house, and I loved feeling the energy from the fans there. We had every resource that you can imagine and one of the best coaches I've ever had, and you’re facing big-league caliber pitchers all the time. It prepares you for the next level. I was looking for boxes to check off; I was very open and visited like 15 different schools, but when I heard LSU was interested, I went on campus and it was a no-brainer. It felt like home.”
So, as he’s likely ticketed back to Harrisburg, what does Crews want to be this year?
“For now I'm trying to be a student as much as I can. I'm in a big league locker room with big-league guys, and I wanna be asking as many questions as I possibly can, and that's what I'm doing,” he said. “Trying to ask as many questions as I can: what their approaches are, what their day to day basics look like, what they do for recovery, all that type of stuff, Just trying to soak in as much information as I can, and even five years from now, I’m gonna still be the student. Hopefully I’ll have been in the league by a couple of years by then, but still I'm gonna be the same student that I am now. “I gotta improve every day, doesn't matter where I'm at in my career or how I'm playing at that time. One of my favorite quotes is ‘you hit, you don't sit.’”
Crews of course feels like he’s ready but knows it’s not his decision…but when it comes to a potential outfield mate of the future, that may not be the case.
“James Wood, in my opinion, he's big-league ready for sure. Just the way he handles himself every day, and the way his at bats are, it just looks so easy,” Crews said. “The way he can hit anything at any moment, no matter what count it is, and be able to drive a ball 450 feet, it’s unbelievable. Pretty cool to see. He's a special player, and I'm glad he's on my team.”
