Following his 652 plate appearances in the minor leagues, the Washington Nationals’ No. 1 prospect was called to the big leagues in 2024. In 116 MLB games, he only recorded a .211 average, along with a left oblique strain in 2025, keeping him out for almost 3 months. And then came a poor spring training and offensive struggles amid the team’s rebuilding phase. A decision had to be made.

The expected face of the Nationals got demoted to Triple-A Rochester on Friday. The overall No. 2 prospect in the 2023 draft, Dylan Crews’ demotion is reportedly aimed at addressing his struggles. And now, A.J. Pierzynski has come with an update on Foul Territory.

“From what I’ve heard from people, he (Crews) won’t make adjustments that need to be made… Dylan Crews was supposed to be the guy who was the face of the Nats franchise going forward, and it hasn’t worked out,” stated Pierzynski.

The Nationals drafted Crews out of LSU in 2023 as a college champion, and he made his debut with the franchise in August 2024. Last season, Crews hit .208/.280/.352 in 85 games while suffering from a left oblique strain that caused him to miss playing time.

Crews has been struggling with his offense throughout his first full major league season. And that counts as a major reason for the demotion.

Falling behind counts forced him to protect the plate, which affected his swing path. With balls going straight up, his line drive rate dropped to 5.3% from 15%.

At the Nationals Spring Training Camp, Crews has been working on his offense, including the counts. Manager Blake Butera was reportedly pleased with his at-bat quality against the Cardinals.

Crews went ahead of the count, 2-0, while making a five-pitch walk.

But trailing behind counts is not the only issue.

Crews’ in-field fly-ball rate indicates his batting mechanics issue. This Spring, he went 3-for-29 in 12 games while only hitting .103. On most of the days, he looked lost on the plate. In fact, his IFBB% went higher.

From 6.8% in 2025 to 55.6% in Spring Training.

The Nationals had called up Crews in 2024 after he had made only 135 minor league appearances. It seems like the best way to shift the spotlight for a bit so that he can find himself again – the 2023 version. Just like Roki Sasaki did last season. In his MLB debut, he allowed 9 walks in 4.2 innings and even dealt with shoulder fatigue. But his demotion to the minors helped him fix his flawed delivery, and he came back as a “monster” closer, utilizing his high-velo fastball and a refined splitter to limit opponents to one earned run over 10.2 innings in the 2025 postseason.

In Crews’ junior season (2023) with LSU, this same guy won the Golden Spikes Award, reaching base in all 69 games that season. That also included a 26-game hitting streak while batting .426. In fact, he led his team to the 2023 College World Series title against Florida.

His 4-for-6 performance contributed significantly to deciding LSU’s 18-4 win in game 3. At the end of the season, his on-base streak reached 71 for 71.

Now, away from fans’ expectations and the big league pressure, Dylan Crews can tweak his hitting and make those “adjustments” needed to return.

“Whether he was putting pressure on himself or trying to make the team — all these different things — he can just go be Dylan now,” Nationals’ manager Blake Butera noted.

Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reported that Butera does not yet have a timeline for Crews’ return.

“I told him we don’t want to put pressure on him to say, ‘ You need to be up by this date or anything like that.’ … We want to give him some time to work through those small adjustments in Triple-A, where it’s not 40,000 people yelling down his neck every night and he can actually work on some of those things,” shared the Nationals’ skipper.

And while Pierzynski feels that Crews is reluctant to fall in line, Butera has all the confidence in his top prospect.

“He’s very mature, he’s a pro, he’s a confident kid.”

But Crews is not the only one the Nationals optioned to the minors ahead of the season opener.

Nationals option another top-30 prospect

The Washington Nationals have optioned outfielder Christian Franklin to the Triple-A Rochester on Monday. Franklin ranked No. 18 according to the MLB prospect rankings.

This spring, he went 8-for-32 in 18 games with 1 RBI and 12 strikeouts while slashing .250/.273/.250.

The Nationals had acquired Franklin, along with Ronny Cruz, from the Chicago Cubs in a 2025 trade. They traded pitcher Mike Soroka for Franklin and Cruz. Franklin was brought in as a potential fourth outfielder for roster security and outfield versatility.

But the 26-year-old mostly spent his time playing in the Minor Leagues and has yet to make his MLB debut. Before he gets the opportunity to make his big-league debut, Franklin needs to improve his batting first.

Despite displaying “plus raw power” in batting practice, Franklin often struggles to translate that power into game scenarios, resulting in high ground-ball contact. His inability to drive the ball in the air consistently limits his home run output. Many of his hits in 2024 and early 2025 tended to be low-trajectory. Scouting reports indicate that his right-handed swing can get long, causing him to miss hittable pitches within the strike zone.

Meanwhile, with the Nationals’ deep pool of OFs, Robert Hassell III couldn’t step up. Despite a .286 average, he posted a .631 OPS. While Hassell seems like a well-rounded guy, the Nats probably needed one skill that he can excel at. But not much luck there!

In his MLB debut, he struggled with a .572 OPS. As that hasn’t improved much in the Spring Training either, the front office decided to demote the guy. This way, he can play every day to regain his form instead of sitting on the bench in the big leagues.