Dylan

Crews

Crews’ stolen base was his 11th of the year. Stealing 11 bases in 30 games with a .266 on-base percentage bodes well for Crews’ future stolen base potential provided he can get on base more often in the future. He had a .340 OBP with Triple-A this year so we shouldn’t read too much into Crews’ slow start to his major league career.

Crews came into the day with three home runs and eight stolen bases in his brief MLB career but the batting average had lagged behind, so this was nice to see. The 22-year-old had produced solid numbers in the minors and is now slashing .244/.294/.410 in 20 MLB games. Perhaps this will kickstart a solid final couple of weeks of the season.

Crews has been fun since being called up. Already installed as the lead-off hitter, he pushed the envelope in the first inning of this game by legging out an infield single, stealing second, stealing third, and coming around to score on an error from Edward Cabrera. The Nationals would struggle to muster anything else against Cabrera, so Crews’ aggressiveness provided a valuable spark. He’s up to three homers and eight stolen bases just 16 games into his short career.

Crews’ stolen base was his sixth steal of the season. The former No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft isn’t setting the world on fire, but he’s certainly holding his own and you can see the upside with the power and speed elements in his game. Crews is hitting .241 with a .756 OPS and eight RBI at the major league level so far.

Crews responded to being dropped to seventh in the lineup for the first time in over a week by crushing a 404-foot solo shot to left-center field in the second inning off Pirates starter Luis Ortiz for his third big league round-tripper. He also tacked on another insurance run a couple frames later when he scalded a 109.6 mph double off the left-field wall with two outs in the sixth inning. He also walked and stole two bases in the ninth inning as well, just for good measure. The 22-year-old top prospect is holding his own at the highest level so far with a robust .883 OPS with three homers and five steals in 10 games.

Abrams has been scuffling quite a bit of late, batting .184 (21-for-114) with three homers and nine steals over his last 30 games. The 23-year-old has been usurped by rookie Dylan Crews as Washington’s primary leadoff specialist over the past week, and has gotten some extra time off lately in an effort to get himself back on track at the dish. He’s back in the leadoff spot on Saturday afternoon with Crews dropped to seventh in the order.

Crews hit seventh in his second big-league game Aug. 27, but he had led off every game since. CJ Abrams is back in that spot tonight. Crews has hit .216/.293/.432 in 41 plate appearances since his callup. Abrams is just 2-for-26 with one walk during the same span.

CJ Abrams has been moved towards the bottom of Washington’s lineup for the second straight contest with Crews batting leadoff for the third straight game. The 22-year-old top prospect is batting .313 (5-for-16) with two homers and one steal in four contests since arriving in the big leagues earlier this week. He’s making an immediate five-category impact for fantasy managers and the move towards the top of Washington’s lineup is definitely a boost to his fantasy appeal.

Crews has enjoyed an amazing first week in the majors with two home runs, two doubles, three RBI, and a stolen base. It can’t all be rosy though, as he struck out with the tying run in scoring position to end both the game and the Nationals’ furious ninth-inning rally. Still, he looks like he belongs in the show four games into his big league career.

With CJ Abrams out of the lineup on Wednesday, Crews got to hit out of the leadoff spot for the Nationals and responded by crushing Carlos Rodon’s second pitch for a 399-foot (105.4-mph EV) solo shot that gave the Nationals an early 1-0 lead. He also chipped in a run-scoring double in the fourth that extended their lead to 5-1. The 22-year-old phenom is hitting .364/.417/.818 with a homer, two RBI and a stolen base through his first three games and certainly looks the part of a big-league player. He should be rostered in all formats.