Dylan Crews has been working his way back from a tough early-season slump, and with his second-inning home run in Tuesday's 5-2 win, the Washington Nationals outfielder now leads big league rookies in homers with seven.
The one area that things could do with more consistency is batting average, which has been a rollercoaster. After having just five hits in his first 47 at-bats, Crews heated up to grab 17 in his next 49. But he has just nine in his last 58 to see his average land at .196 on the season.
"The batting average isn't where he wants it to be," Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told The Sports Junkies on Wednesday. "But I think that comes. When it's all said and done this year, he's gonna have a heckuva year for himself. He's a five-tool talent: he can play defense, runs the bases extremely well, throws extremely well, hits, and hits for power.
"I think it's just seeing him scratch the surface of what he can do and after about [40 games] that we've seen him play, I like the track that he's on. He's getting better, he's made two or three swing adjustments throughout the season and he's gonna be a heckuva player for us."
There is a bit of concern about Crews on the injury front as he left Tuesday's game due to a back issue.
On getting back to winning ways
Washington has had some up and down weeks. First going 6-3, then going 4-4, then suffering a seven-game losing streak before rattling off five wins in six games, including four straight.
"That's youth, that's a young team," Rizzo told The Junks. "The consistency of this is what separates baseball from the other sports, it's every day. It's the everydayness of a sport that is so grueling, not only physically, but mentally. But you ride a euphoria. Of not only beating [Spencer] Strider and the Braves [Tuesday] night. Now you gotta turn it around, do it again. You did it last night, now you gotta do it tonight. It's a grind and young teams have to learn how to win those close games. I think we're getting a little better at it. When your bullpen does what they're supposed to do, that helps you win those close games."
Robert Hassell III promoted, to make MLB debut
Hassell, 23, came over to Washington in the Juan Soto trade after he was the 8th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by San Diego.
"He's a really good all-around player," Rizzo said. "Good defensive player, corner outfield... definitely capable of playing major league center field, above-average. He's got a really smooth, quick stroke from the left side. He's more of a gaps guy than he is a bombs guy. He's a hit-tool guy before a power guy. But he plays all sides of the ball. Good baserunner, fast baserunner, base stealer, and is a guy that is a really good-looking prospect.
"And just coming off two mediocre seasons because he had thumb, wrist surgeries and injuries and you saw in spring training he had a full offseason to not rehability but to prepare for the season and you saw the results of that when he had healthy hands and health wrists and he was swinging the bat really well."
Rizzo told the Junkies Hassell has "earned the promotion" after getting some additional seasonin in the minors after the spring and they are gonna see "what he's all about."
In 43 games at Triple-A Rochester, he's got four home runs and 24 RBI with a .288/.337/.405 slash line for a .742 OPS.
On the Juan Soto Deal
"It was a good return for a good player," Rizzo said of the deal that netted the club Hassell, James Wood, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore (plus Jarlín Susana, a 21-year-old pitcher still at Double-A, but ranked as a Top 100 prospect in baseball).
"I thought it was a good Major League Baseball trade and it was something that we had to do," Rizzo told the Junks. "And we were fortunate enough to find a trading partner that met what we were trying to do and they got what they wanted and we got what we wanted. And time marches on. And now you're seeing those four or five guys and Susana is soon to be here also. And it was a trade that we had to make and I think it's gonna be looked upon as something that was beneficial to the Nats."