JD Drew, who initially was a first-round holdout, having been unable to reach a signing agreement with Philadelphia after being selected in 1997, also had a rather non-linear approach to eventual success in MLB.
Drew, like Crews, was a Golden Spikes winner as the top amateur baseball player in the United States, and played independent ball, albeit with considerable success, before re-entering the draft and being chosen by St. Louis in 1998. There were growing pains with Drew.
He did not exhibit the level of dominance he displayed in college until his third or fourth year, when, still plagued by lingering injuries, he checked in with 27 home runs and a 1.027 OPS for the season. Drew went on to have a good career, including an All-Star Game selection in which he was the game MVP and a World Series title with the 2007 Boston Red Sox.
A solid MLB career by all measures, but realistically, not the generational, Cooperstown trajectory that most analysts had projected when he first debuted with the Cardinals.
There are several examples, and quite prominent ones, where fine-tuning was required for a player with all the tools to truly thrive at the top level.
3-Time MVP Judge, Had a Later Start
Aaron Judge is another prime example of this. Judge, despite being a late first-round pick by the Yankees in 2016, was more of a project when he entered pro ball than a top prospect whose pathway to the show was clear. With aluminum bats, Judge hit just 18 home runs through 169 college games at Fresno State.
The adjustments were made in Yankee camp and at various levels, like AA Trenton, and AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, where Judge began to take off in the power category over a three-year period. By age 25, Judge transformed into a power prodigy and arguably the greatest hitter of this era.
Now, at age 24, Dylan Crews will almost certainly wish to deflect or at least postpone comparisons to Drew and Judge for another time. After all, the spotlight in Washington is currently on other catalysts of the youth movement and the rebuilding of this formerly championship ballclub.
23-year-old outfielder James Wood is hovering around the league leaders in home runs, and shortstop CJ Abrams, now in his fifth season, is showing 30-30 potential in 2026, and should garner serious consideration for his second All-Star nod.
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has remained patient and optimistic regarding Washington’s young core.
“The cons are the growing pains,” Rizzo said. “All of these young players, they all don’t develop and blossom at the same time. So there’s bumps in the road.”
“The cons are the growing pains,” Rizzo said. “All of these young players, they all don’t develop and blossom at the same time. So there’s bumps in the road.”
There are others who are perpetually fueling optimism and excitement in the Nationals organization, including 2025 first overall pick Eli Willits, who, by the time Abrams reaches agency eligibility in 2028, might be knocking on the door of his big league debut.
What is evident now in Washington, as far as big league baseball goes, is that Crews’ story is more of a subheading at the moment. That might just be the perfect set of conditions for him to thrive. If his production over the course of the weekend, where the Nats took two of three from the division-leading Atlanta Braves, is any indication, that appears to be the case.
A clutch home run against Braves starter Grant Holmes supported a shutout pitching effort from Jake Irvin, Brad Lord, and Richard Lovelady in Saturday’s 2-0 win. The Nationals are now sitting alone in second place in the NL East, and quietly, Dylan Crews is one of the reasons for their recent success.
