Crews Control
Dylan Crews (WSN): 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB.
The expectations in DC were sky-high for Dylan Crews when he debuted on August 26 for the Nationals.
After all, he was the second overall pick in a loaded 2023 Draft which included Paul Skenes (who went No. 1), Wyatt Langford (No. 4 overall), Jacob Wilson (No. 6), Rhett Lowder (No. 7), and Nolan Schanuel (No. 11). All five of those picks have debuted in the majors this season to varying levels of success.
So far, even amidst tremendous hype and competition from his draft class, Crews has held his own in roughly 50 plate appearances at the major league level.
He is hitting only .233, but he is making up for it with a .832 OPS, 9.8% walk rate, and 10% barrel rate.
On Saturday, in the first game of their doubleheader against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, Crews had one of the best games of his young career.
The 22-year-old LSU product hit his third home run of the year, collected two hits, and stole two bases in the Nationals’ 5-3 win. He cooled off a bit in the evening game of the doubleheader (0-for-3 with a walk), but he is proving to be a power-speed threat who could be a fantasy stalwart for years to come.
Crews doesn’t chase much at the plate, as he only sports a chase rate of 21.4%. That said, his whiff rate is high at 29.9%, which could be a concern for Crews as pitchers gain more familiarity against him this season.
The high whiff rate hasn’t resulted in many strikeouts currently. He only has a K rate of 17.1%. However, it will be interesting to see if pitchers attack him with more secondary pitches down the stretch. He is whiffing 50% of the time against both breaking and offspeed pitches this year (he is only whiffing 11.4% of the time against fastballs). Improving against breaking and offspeed pitches needs to be a priority for Crews, especially this offseason.
It’s been a bit of a “rebuilding” season for the Nationals, who are currently 64-78 and fourth in the NL East. Climbing up in the division in 2025 will be difficult, especially with Philadelphia, Atlanta, and the Mets likely reloading again this offseason in free agency.
That said, the Nationals are building an intriguing young core with Crews, CJ Abrams, James Wood, and Luis Garcia Jr. Crews, though, is the most critical player of that bunch, especially considering his draft and prospect status.
A solid finish to the 2024 season could have Crews up in the fantasy draft boards this winter, especially in traditional 5×5 leagues where his power and speed combination could make him a first-round caliber fantasy player.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Saturday.
Spencer Horwitz (TOR): 4-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
After a cup of coffee in 2023, Horwitz has thrived this year in a lost season for the Jays. On Saturday, he hit his 10th and 11th home run of the season and improved his OPS to .806. He also has slashed his K rate by nearly 10% and improved his walk rate by 1.8%. He barrels the ball at an above-average rate (8.0%, to be specific), which makes up for a more pedestrian hard-hit rate (37.3%). Horwitz may be an excellent option for fantasy managers looking for a postseason boost.
Tyler O’Neill (BOS): 3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI.
The Red Sox are trying to hang on in the AL Wild Card race, and they did so on Saturday night against the White Sox thanks to two home runs from O’Neill. The 29-year-old outfielder has 27 home runs for the year and a .881 OPS. That’s a tremendous bounce-back for a player who disappointed in 2022 and 2023 with the Cardinals after hitting 34 home runs with St. Louis in 2021. It will be interesting to see where O’Neill lands in 2025 as he hits free agency this offseason.
Andrew Benintendi (CHW): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB.
The White Sox lost (again), but Benintendi has been finally living up lately to the large contract he signed before the 2023 season. He hit .278 in August with a .952 OPS. That included seven home runs and 17 RBI. Benintendi is off to a slow September, hitting only .154 this month. However, after a three-hit game and blasting his 15th home run of the year, he could be getting back on track.
Jose Altuve (HOU): 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, RBI.
Altuve on the road? Seven home runs and a .395 slugging percentage. At Minute Maid Park in Houston? Twelve home runs and a .505 slugging percentage. The Astros are playing the Diamondbacks at home this weekend, and Altuve is mashing. He hit his 19th home run of the year on Saturday and collected three hits. Nobody enjoys Houston more than Altuve.
Yandy Díaz (TBR): 3-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB.
Diaz has put his brutal April behind him. In the first full month of play, he hit .202 with a .512 OPS. In the second half alone, he is hitting .296 with a .812 OPS. It’s early, but September is looking like his best month. He is hitting .348 with a 1.096 OPS. On Saturday, he hit his 14th home run of the year. The “Yandy Man” is back in full force for Tampa, though it may be too late with the Rays six games back in the AL Wild Card race.
William Contreras (MIL): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB.
Contreras has been on a power surge since the All-Star break. He hit 11 home runs in 418 plate appearances in the first half. In the second half? He has hit 10 home runs in 193 plate appearances, with his latest coming on Saturday against the Rockies. It’s unsurprising that he has a .894 OPS in the second half, 102 points better than the mark he produced before the All-Star break.
Connor Norby (MIA): 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI.
It’s all about opportunity. Norby was buried on the Baltimore depth chart this season, and his .188 average and .594 OPS with the Orioles in 32 plate appearances didn’t help. However, he’s gone on an absolute tear after being traded to Miami. He is hitting .319 with a .959 OPS in 74 plate appearances with the Marlins. On Saturday, he collected his fourth home run of the season, which helped the Marlins cruise to a 9-5 win over the first-place Phillies.
Kevin Newman (ARI): 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
It’s been a stellar September thus far for Newman. In 17 plate appearances, he is hitting .375 with a .975 OPS, surpassing his previous month by a wide margin. He continued to sizzle at the plate on Saturday, hitting his third home run of the year and collecting two RBI in the Diamondbacks’ 11-5 loss to the Astros. He likely won’t keep this up, but it’s nice to see this level of play from a journeyman known more for his glove than his bat.
Pedro Pagés (STL): 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Logan Gilbert and Kyle Gibson dueled on Saturday at Busch Stadium. While Gilbert did go eight innings (longer than Gibson), he made a mistake to Pages, who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Cardinals the lead (and eventually the win). It was Pages’ sixth home run in 172 plate appearances this season, so, while exciting, this shouldn’t be expected as a regular occurrence from him down the stretch by Cardinals fans.