Dylan Crews wants to be great. The Nationals want him to just be himself.Discusses his fast ascent and the pressure he has put on himself to lead and excel. Brings up the interesting factoid that he moved so fast through the minors that he ended up playing fewer games in the minor league system than at LSU (148 vs 196). While that was fast, he performed, with an .800 OPS, Andy Kostka of the Banner notes.
About the pressure:
With the weight of expectations, Crews handles himself well. He speaks the part of a leader despite only just turning 24, and his teammates look at him as such. But, as Crews learns the difficulties that come with life in the majors, his new manager attempts to ease the burden that is, at times, as self-imposed as anything.
“The thing with Dylan is just making sure he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself because of how great he wants to be,” manager Blake Butera said last week. “A lot of our jobs as a staff is making sure we can put him in a situation where he is, ‘Just go be Dylan Crews and go play.’”
Part of last year's performance is attributable to his oblique. In response, Crews worked on his core this offseason. Beyond the oblique and the pressure, there's also some concrete needs for improvement in his hitting approach:
But Crews also knows his breakout will require better plate discipline. Crews said he wants to reinforce the areas of his game he feels are strengths, as well as improving his pitch selection — an area in which he struggled last year.
Crews chased pitches outside the strike zone at a 29.5% rate, and he swung and missed overall at a 30.7% clip, according to Statcast. He especially struggled against breaking balls (.180 average), and he didn’t always take advantage of the fastballs he saw.
Kostka's article gets more specific about what Butera wants him to focus on. The link is above, and it's free.
Overall, in addition to the Crews-specific points, it's a reminder that Butera comes from a player development background and can work on micro-points to enable improvement while also working with the individual on feelings and pressure.
