According to multiple reports, the Washington Nationals are promoting top prospect Dylann Cruz to Double-A Harrisburg. Here is what you need to know:
- In 14 games with Single-A Fredericksburg, Crews had 22 hits, 24 RBI, and five home runs.
- The Nationals selected the former LSU outfielder with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft.
- Cruz, who hit .349 or better every season at LSU, won the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s best amateur baseball player, in his final collegiate season.
athleticQuick analysis of:
Is this a surprising move?
Crews was the No. 1 prospect on my board in this year’s MLB draft and has yet to have trouble with professional pitching, hitting .355/.423/.645 in 14 games for Low-A Fredericksburg, where the overall level of Cruz probably has less competition in the SEC than what he saw over the weekend. Anything can happen in a small sample, but I am zero percent surprised that he has continued to hit and show power against the pitching ability he already dominates.
I already don’t see any particular reason for Crews to move up two levels, though with this move I’m guessing they’re at least considering seeing him make the majors this year (otherwise it makes absolutely no sense). Not there). If Crews is coming to the majors in 2023, which I can justify from a baseball perspective and cynical from a job-preserving perspective, moving him to Double A now becomes a lot easier, assuming that he produced there, and time allowed an interim assignment to Triple A (which runs two weeks ahead of the other minor-league levels in September). A Peter’s principle works in potential promotion – you never really know whether a player is ready for the next level until he gets there, so players are moved up until they fail. Do not become Progressing level by level in a player’s first pro summer reduces risk and poses no real loss.
However, I don’t think a week here versus there materially changes a hitter’s long-term outlook. Cruz’s career will probably remain the same no matter where he spends the last two series in August. However, it’s a straight slap in the face of the team’s High-A affiliate in Wilmington. The Crew seems like a likely draw and the Nets decided to deny the Blue Rocks a single homestand with the 2023 Golden Spikes winner and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. Managing affiliate relationships is a part of player development work, and affiliates generally expect the parent club’s top prospects to stay at each level as this can increase attendances. (There are of course exceptions – many teams are owned by the parent club, college pitchers often skip Low A, etc.) Skipping Wilmington* entirely is an odd choice since they are not owned by the Nationals. And there’s no real downside to asking him to play a series or two in High A.
*I agree that it would have been very convenient for me if the crew would have come here in Wilmington to my nearest home game. , Law
back story
As the second pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Crews and former LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes became the first pair of teammates in MLB draft history to go No. 1 and 2.
Crews had been on the radar of MLB scouts since his junior year of high school, when his ability to hit and his power potential marked him as a potential first-round selection when he graduated in 2020. He eventually made the decision, following the COVID-19 pandemic, to forgo the draft and attend LSU. Cruz won a national championship with the Tigers in 2023 and made draft history about two weeks later.
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(Photo: Diamond Images/Getty Images)