BY DAN GLICKMAN
The Rochester Red Wings had a week to remember both on and off the field- and now they are set to receive a big reinforcement: Dylan Crews, one of the best prospects in baseball, is coming to AAA, where he’ll join James Wood to help form one of the most promising outfields for the Red Wings in decades.
First, the past is prologue: the Red Wings’ six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders was one that fans will remember for a long time. Not only did the Red Wings take the series 4-2 against one of the two top teams in their division, but they did so in front of some of the biggest crowds in Innovative Field’s history.
According to a press release from the team, the Red Wings drew 57,020 fans over the six-game series, the most in a six-game span since June 11 through June 16, 2008. The 36,914 fans from Friday through Sunday were the most for a three-game span since 1997- the first year the Red Wings played at what was then called Frontier Field.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
The highlight of the weekend, though, was Friday. Facing New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a rehab assignment and holding several scheduled promotions, the Red Wings drew 13,605 fans to a 2-1 walk-off victory, the most for a regular season game in the history of the stadium and behind only the 1997 exhibition game against Cal Ripken Jr. and the Baltimore Orioles for most-attended baseball game of any sort.
The Red Wings are now 36-31, five games over .500, and on a four-game winning streak. They are statistically eliminated from winning the International League’s first-half title, but they have a winning record against teams with records above .500.
And now, reportedly, they’ll have outfielder Dylan Crews. The No. 2 overall pick in last season’s MLB draft, the LSU alum’s promotion was first broken on Monday by Louisiana broadcaster Matt Moscona. Other reporters have also reported the promotion, although neither the Washington Nationals nor the Red Wings have confirmed the move as of Monday night.
Crews, who is the fifth-best prospect in baseball according to Baseball America and the sixth-best according to MLB.com, comes to Rochester after hitting .274 with five home runs, 38 RBI, and 15 stolen bases in 186 at-bats in AA Harrisburg.
The Floridian has been one of the most touted prospects in the nation since he was a high schooler and was considered one of the two best prospects in last season’s draft as he hit .426 with 18 home runs in 2023, winning the Golden Spikes Award as he and fellow super-prospect Paul Skenes led the Tigers to a College World Series championship. While Skenes was ultimately drafted first by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Crews continued his hot hitting after his selection by the Nationals at the second pick, hitting .292 with five home runs across three levels of minors during his half-season of professional baseball in 2023.
Dylan Crews won’t be the first top prospect out of LSU to play for the Red Wings: pitcher Ben McDonald, the top pick of the 1989 draft, played for Rochester during parts of three seasons.
Joining Crews in the outfield for the Red Wings soon will be James Wood. One of the few players in baseball more highly rated than Crews (No. 3 in Baseball America, No. 4 by MLB.com), Wood was red-hot before tweaking his hamstring on May 23, winning the International League Player of the Month award for May. The 6’7” lefty was hitting .355/.465/.596 with nine home runs at the time of his injury and was the subject of increased buzz over a potential call-up. Soon, he will return: Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy told reporters last week that he was going through increased drills before being reactivated.
Although Rochester fans must travel to Syracuse this week to see Crews and potentially Wood (game one is Tuesday at 6:35), the Red Wings return to Rochester on Tuesday, June 25, at 6:45.
While I don’t think the Wings can be contenders with the pitching staff they have, they did show some promise during the 2nd half of the SWB series. No issues with the hitters. They have been very good 1st half. Despite the pitching woes, the team hovered around .500 and did not have long winning or losing streaks. Quite consistent in that. They did not falter with Wood out of the lineup. 5 over .500 is their high water mark.
With a brand new 2nd half ready to begin next week, lets see if they can stay in contention for awhile and make the summer at the ballpark a fun place to be for those who still care about wins and losses. There is hope. Gnats aren’t contenders and so far they haven’t disturbed the Wings this season as much as they have in their previous 2 years.