Injury to Star Nationals Outfielder Comes at Inopportune Time

The Washington Nationals have used 2025 as another stepping stone in the development of their young core of talent.

Pitcher MacKenzie Gore has become one of the preeminent strikeout artists in the game today, while CJ Abrams and James Wood have each started to make names for themselves as power threats at the plate.

While those pieces of the young core have taken massive steps forward, the Nationals have waited on one of their top draft picks to do the same.

To this point in his career at the Major League level, Dylan Crews has failed to find consistent success. Over his last seven games, however, things have been different.

The recent reports that he will be getting an MRI on Wednesday could not have come at a more inopportune time.

Dylan Crews Could Hit IL After Seemingly Finding His Stroke

Crews made his Major League debut on Aug. 31, 2024. It has been a struggle for the outfielder at the plate. He enters Wednesday with a .206/.275/.354 line, 10 home runs, 23 RBI and a 77 OPS+ across 305 plate appearances in 76 games.

The young outfielder's last seven games have been drastically different, though.

In that stretch, he has batted .286/.423/.571 with two home runs and six RBI across 26 plate appearances. Washington has gone 5-2 in those contests, including a current four-game winning streak that has raised their record on the year to 22-27.

While Crews does not have enough plate appearances to qualify after leaving Tuesday's game early with the apparent injury, he carries a 1.286 OPS over five games in the last seven days, ranking 18th in MLB.

In that span, he ranks ahead of players like Bryce Harper, his teammate Abrams and even Shohei Ohtani.

The potential injured list stint could throw a wrench in the success he has found at the plate of late, getting the outfielder out of his rhythm. It could not come at a worse time for the Nationals, who were finally starting to see glimpses of the superstar they have expected Crews to become since taking him No. 2 overall in the 2023 MLB draft.

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