Since the calendar has turned to July, Dylan Crews has morphed into a very different hitter. After walking just four times in his first 37 games, Crews already has 14 walks in 20 games this month. Plate discipline tends to be pretty tough to improve, but Crews has made a massive jump in a short period of time.
That is a credit to the hitting coaches, who have truly worked magic this season, as well as Crews himself. Slowly but surely, Crews is starting to find comfort at the MLB level and is turning
things around. Last night his OPS reached the .700 mark for the first time in years.
Reaching that .700 milestone feels like a big turning point for Crews. Over the past few seasons, it has felt like he is fighting an uphill battle. He is always trying to turn things around after a hot start. There would be a good week here and there, but it would always be back to reality after a while.
Increasing his walk rate makes it much easier to get that OPS up and it shows he is becoming comfortable. This month, he is walking 16.5% of the time, which is Juan Soto like. Even though some of his other stats like his .235 batting average and 25.9% K rate have not changed much, the walks help him produce so much.
While walking this much is not likely to sustain, the fact he found it so hard to get on base in the big leagues or even AAA had been shocking. This is a player who had a 75 game on base streak at LSU. Plate discipline was supposed to be one of his strengths. However, that had not been the case in pro ball until now.
The hitting coaches have really dug into Crews and are in the process of making him a totally new hitter. In addition to all the walks, Crews also has a 34.8% ground ball rate this month, which is well below league average. In the past, Crews has been a guy with ground ball rates over 50%.
At this point, it is clear that Crews’ hit tool was not quite as good as advertised coming out of LSU. I think the coaching staff and maybe even Crews himself know that now. They are coming up with an approach to maximize the skills he does have. Crews has crazy power for his size and can go gap to gap.
By getting him to swing less and elevate more, the new coaching staff is getting the best out of Dylan Crews. He may end up being more of a .240 or .250 hitter, but if he can get on base at a decent clip, hit 20-25 homers, play good defense and be a menace on the bases, he can be a good player for a long time. It may not be what we imagined when he was drafted, but this has been such an encouraging month for Crews.
Last night’s homer was also a big moment for Crews. While he has been hot lately, a lot of that production has been coming against left handed pitching. For the season, Crews is hitting .333 with a .983 OPS vs southpaws compared to a .177 average with a .568 OPS vs righties. However, he went yard against a righty last night in a very encouraging sign.
Right now, Crews’ chase rate for the season is still pretty high at 32.6%. However, that has steadily been coming down. I remember a few weeks ago when that number was closer to 37%. For Crews to be an effective hitter, he either needed to make a lot more contact or chase a lot less. It seems like the path he is taking is to chase less.
That seems to be working right now. Given Crews’ 1 step forward 2 steps back nature, we still need to be cautiously optimistic. We know the bottom can drop out quickly for him. However, with this coaching staff, I find that less likely. It is starting to feel like his tail is starting to wag and his LSU confidence is starting to come back.
When I was in the locker room the other day, I was kind of struck with what Crews said after Friday’s loss the other day. He was pretty clearly upset, saying the team needed to be better in close games. When he first came up this season, I don’t think he would have said something like that. He would have stuck to the script and been less critical.
At first, Crews seemed like he was just starting to fit in with the guys and put his head down while he proved himself. Now, his voice is starting to become a bigger one in the Nats clubhouse. He has always seemed like a future leader, but the production had to come first. Now, the production is coming thanks to his newly found patience. Is this the beginning of a Dylan Crews breakout, or another false dawn? For the first time, I am starting to lean towards the former.
