Biography
Dylan Gray Crews (born February 26, 2002) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the LSU Tigers, with whom he won the 2023 College World Series and the Golden Spikes Award. Crews was selected by the Nationals second overall in the 2023 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2024.
Early life
Crews was born on February 26, 2002, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, later attending Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Florida. During his amateur career, he played for USA Baseball twice, once on their 14U team and once on their 18U team that won a gold medal. As a junior in 2019, he batted .389 with 15 stolen bases. That summer, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field. Although his senior season in 2020 was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was considered a top prospect for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. However, he withdrew his name a week before, announcing he would fulfill his commitment to play college baseball at Louisiana State University.
College career
Crews immediately became LSU's starting right fielder as a freshman in 2021. He started 63 games during the season, batting .362 with 18 home runs, 42 RBIs, 16 doubles, and 12 stolen bases. His 18 home runs were the most ever by a LSU freshman, surpassing Mike Fontenot's previous record of 17. He earned All-American honors and was named National Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game. He was named to the United States national baseball team after the season. He also briefly played for the Sanford River Rats of the Florida Collegiate Summer League. In 2022, Crews shifted to center field. He was named the co-Southeastern Conference Baseball Player of the Year alongside Sonny DiChiara. He finished the season having played in 62 games with a .349/.463/.691 slash line with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs. Following the season's end, he was invited and returned to play with USA Baseball. In 2023, Crews batted .426 with 18 homers, 70 RBIs, and 100 runs scored and helped lead LSU to win the 2023 Men's College World Series.
Crews was considered a top prospect for the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. The MLB Pipeline ranking on MLB.com listed Crews as the best draft prospect available and projected him to be selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baseball America, FanSided, and Perfect Game also projected Crews to be selected first overall. FanGraphs ranked him as the third-best prospect in the draft.
Professional career
Crews was selected second overall by the Washington Nationals in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. On July 21, 2023, Crews signed with the Nationals for a $9 million signing bonus. On August 4, Crews was promoted to the Single–A Fredericksburg Nationals after one game in the Florida Complex League, where he went 3-for-3. On August 20, Crews was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators after posting a .355/.423/.645 slash line with the FredNats. He finished the year with a combined slash line of .292/.377/.467 with five home runs and 24 RBI across 35 games.
Crews began the 2024 campaign with Harrisburg, hitting .274/.343/.446 with five home runs, 38 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. On June 17, 2024, he was promoted to the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings. On August 26, Crews was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the same day, going 0–for–3 with a walk. At the end of the 2024 season, Crews was ranked as the #1 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
Player profile
In his MLB.com draft profile, Crews has been described as "a plus hitter with plus power" with a "quick right-handed stroke" but was noted to have a tendency to whiff on changeups. The website also described Crews as an "at least average" outfielder with arm strength, an ability to track fly balls, and a potential to play center field at the major league level.
Crews has been described as a five-tool player. Former LSU head coach Paul Mainieri credited Crews with a preparedness for the college level that he compared to that of alumni DJ LeMahieu and Alex Bregman.
Personal Life
While he was at LSU, Crews began a friendship with a young girl named Aubrey White, who has what was diagnosed by doctors as a non-verbal form of autism. The first two words she ever uttered came while she was watching an LSU baseball game: "Dylan Crews". The watershed moment, meaningful as it was to the girl's parents, Robbie and Crystal White, was also caught on video, eventually seen by Crews himself. The player invited Aubrey and her family to an LSU game, and has maintained a relationship with the family since then, including traveling to watch Aubrey play baseball. Crews has said that he finds the girl to be an inspiration in his own career, with thoughts of her tenacity lifting him when he is going through a tough streak.