When it was reported during last night’s game that Dylan Crews was making his way back to the big league club, most assumed the corresponding move would either be an injured list stint for Jacob Young, who wore 93 to the ribs from former Florida Gator teammate Christian Scott, or a DFA’ing of Joey Wiemer, who had performed about as could be expected of a 4th outfielder ever since his absurd start to the year, and also wore a pitch off the wrist in the late innings. As it turns out, the answer was neither,
as Brady House was optioned to Triple-A Rochester postgame, and Jacob Young and Joey Wiemer both had negative X-rays and are listed as day to day.
House made improvements with his bat from 2025 to 2026, raising his wRC+ from 56 to 88 while lifting the ball more and chasing a little less, but he was also whiffing more than ever, and his defense went from above average to nearly the worst in baseball, with his 8 errors being tied for the worst in the National League with CJ Abrams. He’ll now join a Rochester lineup which features a red-hot Yohandy Morales, a rebounding Harry Ford, and latest call up Seaver King, among others.
Still just 22 years old, the move to Rochester is a chance for a mental reset and to figure out the holes in his game, much like what Dylan Crews did in the first month and a half of the year. House has the raw power to be at least an average big league hitter one day, but he won’t be able to tap into it consistently enough while he has a 1st percentile zone-contact rate. He also needs to get back to the basics on defense and find whatever worked for him in 2025, as his sluggish bat is an easier pill to swallow when he is a wall at third base.
A multitude of young Nats hitters, such as Dylan Crews and Seaver King, have benefitted from swinging much less in 2026 than ever, and a similar change for Brady House could be beneficial. A more patient approach could help House cut down his chase rate even more and even eliminate some in-zone swing and miss by having House keyhole for pitches he wants early in counts. It’s not an easy fix, as House has spent his entire professional career with a swing-happy approach, but if done right, it could help House drive the ball with authority while also taking more free passes.
For Crews, this big league stint is a massive one for him, as he hasn’t shown much in his first 2 big league seasons to suggest he’s a building block of the Nationals rebuild. His plate approach has looked much improved over the last 2 weeks at Rochester, combining high-end exit velocities with less chase and more in-zone contact, and the result has been some of the best expected numbers in the minors. Hopefully, these changes stick in his transition back to the bigs, and he can show why he was such a hyped prospect coming out of college and into the big leagues in 2024.
