There are some players that just look the part. Dylan Crews firmly falls into that category. Despite not producing in his first year and change in the MLB, I still have a lot of faith in him. Some of that may be irrational, but Crews just looks like he should be a really good player.
His time at LSU was absolutely legendary. Crews is one of the best college baseball players of the 21st century. He hit .426 in his last year of college before being picked second overall in 2023. I have a hard time believing the player who did that could turn into a bust.
Crews, who turns 24 this month, is at a key point in his career. So far, he has not come close to living up to expectations. However, he is still young enough to turn things around. Crews needs to start showing something for fans to continue to believe in his star upside. He looks the part, but he also needs to produce.
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His pedigree and tools will give him plenty of chances, but eventually he has to stop sucking. Crews has shown flashes of power, contact skills, speed and defense, but he has not put it all together.
This new development team is also giving me another excuse to believe in Crews. One of Dylan Crews’ biggest problems is that he puts the ball on the ground too much. His GB rate was 56% in his cup of coffee in 2024 and 50.2% last year. It is tough to do damage when you aren’t consistently elevating the ball. Crews is not ever going to be a pulled flyball guy, but hopefully the new regime can turn some of those ground balls into line drives.
I think the best version of Dylan Crews as a hitter is a line drive oriented guy. That is what I think Crews is at his core. Selling out for power just does not feel like it comes naturally to him. He should lean into being a gap to gap guy who has the power to punish mistakes.
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Honestly, Crews should try to emulate Ryan Zimmerman as a hitter. Zimmerman always tried to pepper that right-center gap with doubles and homers. However, he was able to turn on those inside pitches. While pulling the ball in the air is optimal, it is not for everyone. It just does not feel like that is Crews’ game, and it does not have to be.
Brady House is the type of player who I think needs to be able to pull the ball in the air. He does not have great offensive tools outside of power, so he needs to maximize that power. Crews does have solid contact ability and a decent approach, even if it has not totally translated to the MLB yet.
Even if it is irrational, I have a ton of confidence that Crews will be a solid starter. My biggest question is if he still has that star potential. I still think it is in there, but it is a less likely outcome now compared to when he was drafted. While I am still very bullish about Crews, you can’t deny reality either.
He may have hit .208 with a .632 OPS last year, but there is still so much more in the tank for Crews. I think he can be a .255 hitter with a .750 OPS next season. At his peak, Crews has the talent to be a .270ish hitter with an .820ish OPS. With his defense in the outfield, that is All-Star level.
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Dylan Crews may never be the Andrew McCutchen type MVP candidate we thought he would be when he was drafted. However, I cannot give up on him yet, not even close. Watching him move on the field just feels right. He looks like he should be really good. That may be totally unscientific, but some guys just have an it-factor. Dylan Crews has it, and it is why I cannot quit him.
