Dylan Crews will be an X-factor for the Washington Nationals in the second half

After missing nearly 2 months, Dylan Crews has become something of a forgotten man for Washington Nationals fans

On May 20th, Dylan Crews left the game with an oblique injury that will cost him 2 months. In a cruel twist of fate, the injury came just as Crews was finally finding his stride at the big league level. In the 7 games before he got hurt, Crews had a .994 OPS.

The former number 2 overall pick has had a learning curve since hitting the big leagues. Before the injury, Crews only had a .620 OPS. He had to scratch and claw even to get his OPS that high.

Getting up to speed with the offensive side of the game was a struggle for Crews. There were multiple week long stretches this year where Crews just could not put the ball in play. This was weird for a guy who was known to have a polished hit tool. However, he has really struggled with big league breaking balls in his career so far.

After missing so much time, he should get another chance to prove himself before too long. He seems to be getting closer to a return. A rehab stint should be coming sometime soon. It seems like Crews should be back sometime in early August.

These next couple months will be huge for Crews. If he does well, he can prove without any shadow of a doubt that he can be the man for the Nats. However, if he continues to struggle offensively, there will be yet another question the Nationals have to deal with. Being the number 2 pick, Crews will get next season to prove himself again even if he does struggle.

However, showing positive signs down the stretch would give Nationals fans much more optimism. Crews does not have to be a superstar bat because he is such a well-rounded profile. He is a very good defender, a great baserunner and brings a contagious energy.

While it is obviously far from the only reason, I think it is worth noting that the season has gone off the rails while Crews has been gone. Despite being a young guy, Crews feels like a leader on this team. He plays the game with an intensity and passion that some other guys lack. I love James Wood, but he does not have the personality to be the emotional heartbeat of a team.

That is totally fine, but you need someone to be that more vocal leader. At his best, Crews has the potential to be that guy. He was also finding his footing on the field as well. In his last 30 games, Crews had a very solid .775 OPS. If he can put up those kinds of offensive numbers for a full season, he will be a highly valuable player, if not the super star he was billed as.

There are also some other signs that Crews will be better offensively. When looking at his Baseball Savant page, it is easy to see how unlucky he has been. His xWOBA sits at .343 while his actual WOBA is .275. Crews’ expected batting average of .258 dwarfs his .196 real life batting average.

There are some real holes in his offensive game. He struggles against spin and isn’t walking like he did in college. However, those negatives are being exasperated by bad luck. Crews still has plenty to work on, but we are likely to see some positive regression here.

With his long term injury and all the drama in Nats world, Crews has become something of a forgotten man. However, when he gets back, I think he will make a splash. He has the potential to finish this season really strong and bring some optimism for 2026.