MLB: No. 2 Pick Dylan Crews Headed to Double-A

Dylan Crews of the LSU Tigers hits a single during the 11th inning against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Charles Schwab Field on June 22, 2023 in Omaha, Nebraska. LSU Tigers defeated Wake Forest Demon Deacons to advance to the NCAA College World Series Finals. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)

Outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall 2023 Major League Baseball draft pick, was promoted from Low-A Fredericksburg to Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday. 

Crews, 21, born in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and signed with the Nationals for a record $9 million bonus contract on July 21, just 12 days after he was drafted during the All-Star Game festivities in Seattle. 

Crews has played at two levels since signing with the Nationals, including the complex level where he made his professional debut on August 3. 

Crews assigned to the complex level in the Nationals organization on August 3 according to the MiLB.com transaction page before being recalled to Low-A Fredericksburg two days later. Between the complex league and Low-A, Crews batted .385 in 15 games with 74 plate appearances, 25 hits, four doubles, five home runs, 24 RBI, and six RBI with a 1.123 OPS. 

During his junior season at Louisiana State, Crews played in 71 games with 344 plate appearances and batted .426,  good for third in the country. He was second in the country with a .567 OBP and 110 hits, and clubbed 18 home runs, 16 doubles, 70 RBI, and walked 71 times for a 1.280 OPS en route to winning the 2023 Golden Spikes Award and leading LSU to its first NCAA Championship since 2009.

Crews also reached base in every game he played this season, and extended an on-base streak from the 2022 season that saw him reach base in 75 games consecutively. 

In Crews’ three seasons at LSU, he played in 196 games with 938 plate appearances, recording a .380 average with 286 hits, 58 home runs, 43 doubles, eight triples, 184 RBI, and 152 walks.

Crews and his former teammate at LSU starting pitcher Paul Skenes became the first set of teammates in the history of the Major League Baseball Draft to be picked as the first and second overall picks since the draft began in 1965.

Skenes signed for $9.2 million which is the largest signing in the bonus pool era since 2012. 

The Washington Nationals received the second overall pick of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft in the first-ever MLB Draft Lottery during the 2022 Winter Meetings in San Diego. 

The 18 teams that missed the playoffs in 2022 participated in the MLB Draft Lottery with the chance to receive the No. 1 pick. Their odds of getting the coveted selection are determined in reverse order of their records, with the worst team in the regular season having the best chance of getting the top pick.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Nationals were two of the three that had the best odds to get the No. 1 overall pick, along with the Oakland Athletics. Those three teams had the worst records during the 2022 regular season.

The second Major League Baseball Draft Lottery will happen during the 2023 Winter Meetings in Nashville, which will be held from December 4-7, 2023.

The Harrisburg Senators open up at home for their six-game series against the Reading Fightin’ Phils starting on August 22 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. The games will be streamed on the MiLB.com streaming website for a fee. 

The Senators (22-23) are in fourth place in the Eastern League Southwest Division, and are four games back of the first place Erie Seawolves (26-19) and the Richmond Flying Squirrels. 

The Fightin’ Phils (21-24) are in fourth place in the Eastern League Northeast Division and are four games back of the first place Somerset Patriots at 25-20. 

The last day of the Double-A Eastern League’s regular season is on September 17.