Dylan Crews has been a terror for pitchers in Single-A ball in the short time since he made his minor-league debut.
Those pitchers are probably happy to bid him farewell, as Crews is already moving up the ladder.
The Washington Nationals are promoting the former LSU star to Double-A after just a few weeks in pro ball. The 21-year-old outfielder really had nothing left to prove at the lower level. In 62 at-bats with the Single-A Fredericksburg Nationals, Crews hit five home runs with a .385 batting average and 1.123 OPS.
This is exactly what every MLB scout expected from Crews, who went No. 2 overall in this year’s draft to the Nationals. Many scouts and baseball insiders thought the Pittsburgh Pirates should have picked Crews No. 1 overall, but they opted for his LSU teammate, Paul Skenes.
MLB.com has Crews ranked as the No. 4 MLB prospect, with a projected arrival time of next season. Talent-wise, he could probably come up and rake at the MLB level tomorrow, but there are obviously other factors (service time) the Nationals are considering.
Crews became the second top-five MLB prospect promoted to Double-A Sunday. Earlier in the day, the San Diego Padres promoted 17-year-old catching phenom Ethan Salas.
MLB fans thought Crews’ promotion to Double-A Harrisburg might was a no-brainer for the Nationals organization.