2023 MLB Draft: outfielder, Dylan Crews

This collegiate power house is no secret in the baseball world as we vastly approach the 2023 Major League Baseball amateur draft. Louisiana State’s top-shelf talent, outfielder Dylan Crews sits on the throne of all draft prospect rankings and all first-round draft boards.

Crews is front and center of college baseball with pro-type tools and well above satisfactory numbers; what makes it even more gratifying is that his performance is absolutely stellar in the NCAA Southeastern Conference as a part of the number one ranked school. His accolade list goes on and on, and includes titles of importance such as 2022 SEC All-Defensive Team, SEC player of the year, and SEC First-Team All American. He was also a U.S. Collegiate National Team member twice.

Statistics

Crews started off his collegiate career sizzling out of the gate in 2021. In 246 at-bats he smacked out 18 home runs with 89 hits, 42 RBI’s on 89 hits. 2022 was a mirror to the previous, with 22 home runs on 87 hits and a whopping 72 RBI’s. So far in 2023, Crews has 87 hits with 15 homers, and 49 RBI’s.

Collectively in three seasons, Crews has recorded an impressive .375 batting average, .493 on base percentage, .687 slugging percentage and a 1.179 OPS.

Another notable stat to pay attention too in 2023 is his walks to strikeouts; he’s taken 58 free bags while striking out only 38 times, with a .567 on base percentage.

Scouting Synopsis

Dylan Crews is built like a pro with a 6’0” stance at 205lbs lean muscle and an athletically constructed makeup. Offensively, Crews is a strong physical presence in the batter’s box with a bat-rested, and weight-back wide stance, similar to Juan Soto. His load emphasizes more weight on his back leg with more athletic base while forcing his front foot to take a minor step and plant towards his swing.

The weight is distributed well through his hips, firing torque power on his swing, while his hands glide inside pushing the barrel through the zone with good bat speed. He’s able to handle and control his bat, and his set-up avoids roll-overs while giving the ability to protect against sneaky off speed.

Without complication, Crews hits the ball the hardest and the furthest. Although his power breathes on the pull side, he’s able to muscle it to all fields. Everything hit off the bat by Crews is a screamer, forcing the defense to make plays under pressure and difficulty. His ability to hit homeruns is very evident while his ability to go hard up the middle is also applicable.

His defense is above average with strong athletic ability to track balls and to hose runners. His speed and agility assists in his defense along with his ability to succeed on the bases. In three seasons, Crews stole 23 bags while scoring 219 times.

His stance and set up screams Juan Soto, his swing, aggressiveness, and power screams Bryce Harper, but his ability to produce screams Mike Trout.

Projected draft position: 1st Overall

Draft bonus: $4 million