BY DAN GLICKMAN
During his first home stand as a Rochester Red Wing, outfielder and mega-prospect Dylan Crews was asked if he in some ways had wished that his college teammate at Louisiana State, pitcher Paul Skenes, were still in AAA playing for the Indianapolis Indians, who the Wings were facing that week.
“I’m happy for him,” said Crews. “And when that time is (for me), that time is.”
That time is now just days away. Crews, one of the highest-ranked prospects to ever come through Rochester, is heading to the big leagues.
According to several sources including MLB.com, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect will make his debut for the Washington Nationals on Monday in Washington against the New York Yankees next Monday.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
The move has not yet been officially announced, and as of this writing Crews remains on the Red Wings roster. According to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post, he’ll play designated hitter on Friday for the Red Wings before traveling to the nation’s capitol.
The 22-year-old Crews, the number two overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft (behind only Skenes), has hit .271 with a .343 on-base-percentage, .464 slugging percentage, and .807 OPS since joining joining Rochester on June 18, hitting eight home runs and driving in 30 while stealing 10 bags. He’s especially hit well recently, slashing .306/.366/.542 in the month of August. In the field, Crews has primarily played center and has played error-less baseball while chalking up three outfield assists.
The Floridian also endeared himself to Rochesterians in other ways, such as appearing in a viral video where Red Wings staffers gave him his first garbage plate- a post later featured in an interview on MLB Network.
Crews is the second MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect to receive the call to Washington this season: fellow outfielder James Wood (at the time 14th on the Pipeline list) earned the call to start July. Even with Crews and Wood in the big leagues, the Red Wings still have one of baseball’s top 100 prospects: third baseman Brady House is No. 69 on the current list.
Rochester, currently 1.5 games out of first in the International League, continues its series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.
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