What Has Impressed Dave Martinez About These Two Nationals Prospects?

When the Washington Nationals had to put Dylan Crews and Jacob Young on the injured list, that could have been detrimental for a team that is starting to play much better baseball as of late.

Despite neither performing at a high level on offense, they are two of the best defenders on the team and impact winning in that fashion.

While winning isn't important for this group in 2025, learning how to win is a skill and something that manager Dave Martinez is trying to instill in the young players.

That's why the losses of Crews and Young could have been a huge issue.

However, the replacements -- Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile -- have stepped in and done largely the same things, covering the ground in the outfield grass to make plays that help out their pitchers.

Martinez has been impressed with the duo getting their first taste of The Show.

"It's awesome," he said, per Bobby Blanco of MASN. "We talked about the other day how athletic we've become with those two guys in our lineup. They can do a lot of different things, not only on defense, but running the bases and things of that nature. But they've been really good. I've seen these guys for years now with us, and I know they both can play the outfield and play it well."

It will be interesting to see how Washington plays things going forward.

Since they are still in their rebuilding phase and are trying to determine which players are going to be cornerstones for them in the future, Hassell and Lile -- the 11th and ninth-ranked prospects in the Nationals' pipeline, respectively -- have a chance to make their case.

While Crews figures to be that guy for Washington based on his pedigree and standing as the 2023 second overall pick, Young's spot could be up for grabs.

Young hasn't quite performed up to standard with the bat in his hand, so if either Hassell or Lile can provide offense while not presenting a stark drop off in defensive metrics, then they might find themselves in a starting role at some point.

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