This LSU Baseball Icon is About to Make His First MLB Opening Day Roster

The Major League Baseball season officially started today, even though its not the league-wide "Opening Day" celebration we're used to. Instead of all MLB teams getting their Opening Day at the same time, only two teams opened the season today...the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. They did it in Japan as well.

The rest of Major League Baseball is still working through their final cuts in Spring Training. With the league's full "opening day" happening between March 27th and 28th.

For the Washington Nationals, Opening Day will land on Thursday March 27th against the Philadelphia Phillies. This will be a home game for the Nationals, and could be the start of an exciting era for the franchise. The Nats will be fielding a young and exciting team this year, and one of the brightest spots could be an absolute legend in the LSU Baseball program.

Dylan Crews had one of the most amazing seasons an LSU Tiger has ever had, hitting .426 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs in his final year in Baton Rouge. He helped push that 2023 LSU Tiger team to a National Championship. He ended his LSU career hitting .380, with 58 career home runs, and 286 hits (striking out 146 times).

Crews became one-half of the first ever First Overall and Second Overall teammate duo in the MLB Draft, when he was taken 2nd overall in the 2023 MLB Draft behind LSU teammate Paul Skenes (1st overall). Skenes was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Crews was taken by the Nationals. Both were labeled as blue chip prospects right away.

Skenes spent the 2023 summer (right after winning a National Championship at LSU) at three levels of minor league baseball. By 2024, he hit the majors, and made a name right away. He was added to the All Star team, won the National League Rookie of the Year, and was named All-MLB First Team.

While Crews had a relatively similar path to the Majors, he didn't catch fire the way Skenes did.

Crews played out the 2023 summer (after winning the National Championship with LSU) at the same minor league levels Skenes did. But in 2024, Crews wasn't called up as fast as Skenes. Crews would play 100 games in the minors before jumping to the big leagues. 

Once he arrived, he didn't take long to look like he belonged. He hit his first home run in his third game, and then hit home runs in back-to-back games. His second even MLB game was his first multi-hit game, and he gathered 6 hits in his first 5 games. Crews would cool off as September carried on, but it was clear that Crews looked like an MLB player.

Now Crews likes likely to be a part of the Nationals' Opening Day roster. As multiple local reporters have him safely slotted into the lineup, and even national writers are on-board with Crews starting the season with the big club. Which is great news for Nationals fans.

The Nationals have a strong young group of hitters they've gathered. Including Crews, James Woods, CJ Abrams, Alex Call, and Keibert Ruiz. They have a lot of quality prospects right behind them too, like Brady House, Stone Garrett, and Trey Lipscomb. The pitching might be coming around for the squad too, which as a lot of excitement building around the fanbase.

If Crews makes the Opening Day roster, its not a guarantee he will be with the big club all year. If he gets cold at the plate for an extended period, the team will likely send him to the minors to fix whatever issue creeps in. But right now, it looks like Crews is a part of their long term plans.