Washington Nationals news & notes: Dylan Crews to join Nats; DJ Herz vs ATL + more…

Notes and quotes from the Nationals’ weekend in Atlanta and their win over the Braves on Sunday…

CREWS DEBUTS:

New York’s Yankees are coming to the nation’s capital today, for a three-game series, with a red-hot Juan Soto (and Aaron Judge) in town, and, according to multiple reports, so is Dylan Crews (coming to D.C. that is), Washington’s top prospect (and the No. 3 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100). Grant Paulsen (of 106.7 the FAN and Sirius/XM MLB Network Radio) was first with the report three days back that the Nationals’ 22-year-old, 2023 1st Round Pick (the No. 2 pick in the draft, behind only Paul Skenes (PIT)), would be up tonight to make his debut in the majors.

Multiple reporters have subsequently noted they’re hearing the same, and Crews is set for his first game in the majors tonight, after playing 100 games even between Double- and Triple-A in the Nationals’ system this season (51 games with Harrisburg, and 49 games with Rochester), with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 36 walks, and 92 Ks in his 449 plate appearances combined, over which he’s put up a .270/.342/.451 line.

“He’s getting it together at the Triple-A level,” GM and President of Baseball ops Mike Rizzo said in an interview with Audacy’s The Sports Junkies on 106.7 the FAN earlier this month, adding, “I actually thought he was a more efficient hitter at the Triple-A level than the Double-A level because of the automated strike zone, so it’s something that — we planned on him going to Triple-A, getting that walk rate up and that strikeout rate down, which has happened and I think he’s swinging the bat really well, playing great in the outfield, we’ve got him playing in center field and in right field in anticipation that’s where he’ll play when he gets to Washington in the big leagues.”

Everything with Crews, Rizzo said, was going according to plan, and he’d be called up when he showed the organization he was ready.

“We’ve got a plan in place for him,” the GM explained, and, “… we’ve got high hopes for him.”

Crews will join James Wood, 21, (acquired from San Diego in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell deal with the Padres in 2022), in the Nationals’ outfield when he does come up for their series with the Yankees, giving a glimpse of the future outfield in D.C. over the final weeks of the season, to the fans, the Nats’ brass, and Martinez and his coaches, as they evaluate all the players assembled through trades and the draft during the now-years-long (but hopefully almost over) organizational reboot, which they kicked off in ‘21.

And Soto, if he, you know, wants to, like, you know, entertain the idea of coming back home in free agency this winter, or whatever, and think about playing with all of the players (like current major leaguers — CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore — and, eventually, with, probably, both Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana) Rizzo and Co. acquired for him (and Bell) in ‘22, he should get a glimpse of what Rizzo and Co. have put together for the future.

Don’t hold your breath or anything, but the idea is out there in the universe:

HERZ’S FIRSTS:

DJ Herz gave up a hit, three walks, and a run in a 38-pitch first against the Giants on August 8th in the nation’s capital. Going up against the Orioles the next time out, on the road in Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Herz, 23, gave up two of four hits, one of two walks, and both earned runs he allowed in the six inning outing against the O’s in a 19-pitch first. Taking on the Rockies at home in Nationals Park last week, the left-hander (acquired from Chicago for Jeimer Candelario in a deadline deal with the Cubs last summer), gave up three hits and one walk in a 28-pitch opening frame.

In the series finale with Atlanta on Sunday afternoon in Truist Park, Herz hit the first batter he faced, Michael Harris II (who later left the Braves’ lineup), issued a one-out walk … and then a two-out walk, then he got a groundout to second to end a 27-pitch first.

Herz then went out and held the home team to a single and a walk in five total innings for the lefty, who struck out 8 of 14 batters he faced after the first.

Herz finished the night with 18 swinging strikes spread out over four pitches (fastball, 5; his changeup, 6; slider, 5; and knuckle curve, 2), and 13 called strikes on the day (nine on his 4-seamer, and 2 each on his changeup and slider).

“The first inning over the last couple of starts has been rough, but he seems to settle down a little bit and he starts throwing strikes and utilizing his pitches,” skipper Davey Martinez said, as quoted by MLB.com’s Rick Farlow, after Herz and the Nationals beat the Braves in the series finale on Sunday, 5-1, avoiding a sweep, and with the win, guaranteeing their first victory in the season series with their NL East rivals from Atlanta since 2017, 7-4 … and they are currently 7-0 against Miami, and 2-8 against both Philly and New York (NL)… sorry about that, ATL).

“It’s about getting the ball close to the zone because his stuff is really good. If he gets too erratic, that’s when he gets in trouble. When he keeps the ball in the zone, he gets a lot of swings and misses,” Martinez continued.

“I think it’s been like that three times in a row,” Herz said of the rough firsts the past three, “… it’ll stop eventually. But just keep grinding through them, and they’ll eventually change.”