WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Dylan Crews walked into the Nationals’ spring training clubhouse this morning, equipment bag over his shoulder and immediately found his locker and familiar faces nearby.

This is the first time Crews has been in big-league camp, the first time he’s been in spring training as a professional, but as he greeted teammates both young and old and scanned the rest of the room, last summer’s first-round pick looked very much in his element.

“Super-excited, ready to get going here,” he said. “I feel like I belong in this locker room right now.”

That statement could be taken the wrong way by someone who didn’t hear it. Crews said it not with any hint of cockiness, but rather with the kind of down-to-earth confidence he has always exuded.

At 6-feet, 205 pounds, he’s not an intimidating physical presence, not in these surroundings. But he’s been the best baseball player on his team everywhere he’s ever played. And though he may not have that status in a major-league clubhouse yet, few doubt he’ll get there soon enough.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There admittedly hasn’t been a lot of juice at Nationals spring training in recent years. Such is life when you tear down the remnants of a championship roster and start over, recognizing it’s going to be a while until the fruits of your labor pay off.

For the last two years, it felt like there was more reason to pay attention to minor-league camp than major-league camp, as the franchise’s next wave of prospects began the long trek up the organizational depth chart.

The Nats aren’t all the way there yet. There is no serious talk of contention in 2024. When the season begins, those prospects are almost certainly all still going to be in the minor leagues.

But for the first time, several of them will be participating in major-league camp. And even if none of them survive to the end of March, their presence alone is going to create some sorely needed juice that’s been lacking in recent springs.

The three big non-roster invitees to camp are Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House, the organization’s consensus top three prospects. Two first-round draft picks (House in 2021, Crews in 2023) and perhaps the best of the five young players acquired in the Juan Soto trade (Wood). All closed out last season at Double-A Harrisburg, suggesting all could be on track to debut in D.C. sometime this season.

As the offseason dwindles down and pitchers and catchers prepare to report to spring training in 10 days, the last few bits of offseason content are getting pushed out.

Among them continues to be the latest prospect and minor league farm system rankings.

Baseball America has come out with their updated lists two weeks ago. Dylan Crews came in as the No. 6 overall prospect in the sport, with James Wood at No. 11 and Brady House at No. 55. Cade Cavalli, Yohandy Morales, Jackson Rutledge, Robert Hassell III, Cristhian Vaquero, Elijah Green and Jarlin Susana round out the top 10 in Baseball America’s new top 30 Nats prospects rankings.

Over the past week, some new rankings dropped.

A little over a week ago MLB Pipeline released its new top 100 prospects list to conclude their series of ranking the top 10 at each position.

Major-league camp in West Palm Beach is going to feature the best minor-league players in the Nationals organization.

Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House are among the prospects who have been invited to big-league camp this spring, the team announced Tuesday. The three consensus top prospects in the organization all will get their first opportunity to be part of a big-league clubhouse, compete against top competition and make their case to club officials to earn promotions to D.C. in the near future.

The Nats announced 11 non-roster invitations altogether, the first batch of minor leaguers who know they’ll be in major-league camp. More invitations are expected before pitchers and catchers report to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches two weeks from today, whether in the form of free agents who sign minor-league deals or more current members of the farm system who get a chance to move up.

In addition to Crews, Wood and House, the Nationals announced invitations to outfield prospect Robert Hassell III, infield prospects Trey Lipscomb and Darren Baker and catcher Brady Lindsly. They also extended invitations to four players with major-league experience who signed minor-league contracts: outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, first basemen Lewin Díaz and Juan Yepez and left-hander Joe La Sorsa.

Hassell, Lipscomb and Baker all will draw interest this spring, and all could make their major-league debuts sometime in 2024. But the spotlight will shine brightest on the three top-rated prospects, all of whom are expected to reach the big leagues this year.

There is only so much offseason content to put out with a month left to go before the start of spring training, but some major publications are starting to roll out some preseason topics.

Among those, Baseball America released its latest top 100 prospects list Wednesday morning with some familiar names from the Nationals making the cut.

Outfielder Dylan Crews was ranked as the No. 6 overall prospect in the sport by Baseball America’s staff, with outfielder James Wood coming in at No. 11 and third baseman Brady House at No. 55.

For these preseason rankings, the publication puts together the list of players based on “their long-term MLB impact.”

It’s no surprise that Crews was the highest ranked Nationals prospect after he was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in last summer’s draft after winning a national championship and the Golden Spikes Award with LSU. He entered the draft as the consensus top ranked position player.

As the first week of the new year comes to a close, we’ve done our fair share of looking back at the Nationals’ 2023 season and ahead to the 2024 campaign. At the major league level.

During this week’s “The Hot Stove Show” on MASN All Access (which you can watch here), Brendan Mortensen and I talked a lot about the Nats’ top prospects in the minor league system and what to expect from some of them this year.

That got me thinking: We haven’t really looked back at the most significant stories from last year on the farm.

So to briefly coincide with Mark Zuckerman’s “Most significant stories of 2023” series from the week leading up New Year’s Day, here are seven of the most important headlines from the Nationals’ minor league side of the past year …

1) Dylan Crews drafted No. 2 overall
This one is the most obvious selection. At this time a year ago, one of the main focuses heading into the season was who the Nationals would select with the No. 2 pick in the MLB Draft.

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2023. We continue the series today with perhaps the most significant player acquisition of 2023: Dylan Crews …

Five times in club history, the Nationals have owned one of the top five picks in the MLB Draft. The first three times they held such a pick, they emerged with some of the most important players in D.C. baseball history: Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper. The fourth time, they took a shot at a raw-but-gifted athlete whose ultimate fate won’t be known for years: Elijah Green.

And the fifth time? Well, it’ll also be a while until we know the true answer. But based on the early returns, it’s hard not to get immensely excited about Dylan Crews.

“He’s won every award that you can possibly win,” general manager Mike Rizzo said on draft night in July. “He’s been the best player on the best team in the country. And I think when you talk to him and watch him, this is only the beginning.”

The Nationals certainly are banking on that. Crews arrived with as impressive a resume as there was coming out of college: the Golden Spikes Award winner, a national championship at LSU and a jaw-dropping stat line in 71 amateur games this season (.426 batting average, 18 homers, 70 RBIs, .567 on-base percentage, 1.280 OPS).

Last month, the Nationals promoted longtime front office staffer Eddie Longosz to vice president and assistant general manager of player development and administration after spending the last 13 years in the club’s scouting department, most recently as the director of scouting operations for the last eight.

Before the promotion, Longosz, a D.C. native, assisted general manager Mike Rizzo on all aspects of the organization's amateur, professional and international scouting operations.

That means he is now in charge of developing the players in the Nats’ farm system that he helped scout and draft.

The upper echelon of the farm system is now loaded, especially with position players, thanks to high draft picks, numerous trades and impressive international signings over the last three years, all with Longosz’s input.

At the top of the board is top prospect Dylan Crews, this year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, reigning national champion from LSU and Golden Spikes Award winner. The other recent first-round picks include third baseman and No. 3 prospect Brady House (No. 11 overall pick in 2021) and outfielder and No. 5 prospect Elijah Green (No. 5 overall pick in 2022).

Organizational prospect rankings are by nature ever-changing. Top prospects reach the big leagues and watch their careers take off. New draft picks join the list and leapfrog other established players. Some once-touted prospects lose their steam and disappear off the radar.

But it’s notable how much the Nationals’ prospect rankings have changed in the last two years, growing from one of the least-touted groups in baseball to one that is now turning a whole lot of heads.

And it’s not necessarily all the same names everyone assumed would top the list not that long ago.

Baseball America unveiled its 2024 Top 10 ranking Monday, and while most of the names include on the list come as no surprise, the order they are listed does include a few surprises.

Headlining the group is the newest member of the organization: Dylan Crews. As one would expect, the No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s draft immediately takes over as the No. 1 prospect in the Nationals organization. (He should be a top-10 prospect in the sport once that list is unveiled later this winter.)

PROSPECT REVIEW: DYLAN CREWS

Age on opening day 2024: 22

How acquired: Drafted No. 2 overall in 2023 from LSU

Ranking: No. 1 (No. 4 overall) per MLB Pipeline, No. 1 (No. 3 overall) per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2024
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

Now that the 2023 season is a wrap, we’ve taken broad looks at the year that was for the Nationals. Individual player reviews will start coming out on a daily basis this week, with Mark Zuckerman handling the major league roster and me taking a look at some of the top prospects.

But before we take a deeper dive into each player's performance, I wanted to have one overarching view of the minor league system in the form of a fun exercise.

Overall, the Nats’ minor league system did not fare too well this year in terms of win-loss records. The Dominican Summer League Nationals finished 11-39, the Florida Complex League Nationals 24-25, Single-A Fredericksburg 65-63, High-A Wilmington 55-75, Double-A Harrisburg 59-77 and Triple-A Rochester 66-80.

But among those results, there were some really strong individual performances.

“The best part of the minor league season was that all the players that we really were looking forward to take a step forward, we believe have,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We think that was a success in that regard.”

The Nationals’ improvement at the big league level this year was important, no doubt. It wouldn’t have meant much, though, if they didn’t also see improvement at the minor league level.

This organization’s attempt to rebuild itself back into a perennial contender won’t be realized unless enough homegrown players emerge from its farm system in the next two years to supplement what’s already on the 26-man roster. In some regards, what happened nightly in Rochester, Harrisburg, Wilmington, Fredericksburg and West Palm Beach this season mattered even more than what happened in D.C.

By all accounts, the Nationals are pleased with the results. A farm system that rated in the lower-third of the sport only 18 months ago now rates in the upper-third, with several of baseball’s top prospects headlining the list.

“The best part of the minor league season was that all the players that we really were looking forward to take a step forward, we believe have,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We think that was a success in that regard.”

Not every prospect improved, though, and there is now evidence the organization isn’t 100 percent satisfied with the 2023 season. DeJon Watson, the Nationals director of player development the last two years, won’t be back in 2024, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. (The Washington Post was first to report the news Monday evening.)

If you’re of the belief the Nationals could exceed expectations and be a surprise wild card contender next year, you’re probably also of the belief Dylan Crews and James Wood, plus perhaps Brady House and Robert Hassell III, are going to play a big role in the club’s ascension.

That may very well become reality. Any or all of those top prospects could make his major league debut in 2024 and make an immediate impact for a lineup that could use some more thump to go along with CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz and Lane Thomas.

But it’s also entirely possible none of that happens. Before any of those prospects can become contributors in D.C., they need to actually make it to D.C. And before any of them can do that, they need to actually have success in the upper levels of the minor leagues.

At this moment, all are underwhelming at Double-A Harrisburg to some extent.

Wood, widely believed to be closest to major-league-ready of this group, has mashed 16 homers and driven in 46 runs in 76 games at Double-A. That’s good. His .223 batting average and .315 on-base percentage are less good. And his 109 strikeouts in 324 plate appearances really aren’t good.

MIAMI – Jacob Young wasn’t in the minor leagues for too long before finally getting the call to the major leagues.

The 2021 seventh-round pick out of the University of Florida played 26 games at Single-A Fredericksburg the year he was drafted by the Nationals. He spent all of last year with the FredNats, slashing .262/.360/.331 with a .691 OPS, 118 runs, 52 stolen bases in 59 attempts and 152 total bases on his way to being named the Nationals’ 2022 Minor League Base Runner of the Year.

Young was one of two players in all of Minor League Baseball to steal at least 50 bases and score at least 100 runs in 2022. His 118 runs scored were tied for the most in all of the minor leagues, while his 52 stolen bases were the most among Nationals minor leaguers.

The 24-year-old started this season at High-A Wilmington, where he hit .307 and stole 22 bags in 56 games. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg, where he hit .304 with an .805 OPS and 17 stolen bases in 52 games.

Even with top prospects James Wood and Robert Hassell III patrolling the Senators outfield with him, Young was still the standout prospect in Harrisburg.

It was a race against time. We knew last week was the perfect opportunity to go see Dylan Crews.

The No. 2 overall pick was either going to be playing about an hour south of D.C. at Virginia Credit Union Stadium with Single-A Fredericksburg or about an hour and half north at Ripken Stadium, where High-A Wilmington was facing the Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles).

Either way, last week was probably going to be our best chance to see the Nationals’ newest top prospect play locally before he possibly moved two-plus hours away to Double-A Harrisburg, who don’t come back to the area to play the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) anymore this year, or even 6 ½ hours away to Triple-A Rochester before the end of the minor league season.

So Amy Jennings and I considered ourselves lucky when “MASN All Access” arrived in Fredericksburg last week and Crews was still there wearing FredNats gear.

“It's all kind of happening so fast, honestly,” Crews said of the weeks leading up to his first taste of professional baseball. “From the national championship to getting drafted and having to go to Florida for training for a little bit and then getting promoted here. It's an awesome feeling. But it's been hard to kind of soak everything in. It's just been one just fun ride for these past few weeks.”

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – As they showcase themselves before a national audience for the first time this season, the Nationals are moving their top picks from this summer’s draft a step closer to the big league stage, including a big jump for their No. 1 prospect.

The Nats are promoting outfielder Dylan Crews to Double-A Harrisburg, a source familiar with the decision confirmed, after the No. 2 overall pick dominated at Single-A Fredericksburg in his professional debut.

Crews hit a robust .351 with five homers, 24 RBIs and a 1.073 OPS in only 13 games with Fredericksburg, proving more than capable of competing at that level only months after he led LSU to the College World Series title.

The fact the Nationals are bumping Crews up to Double-A, skipping the High-A level altogether, underscores how advanced they believe he is, not to mention how soon they believe the 21-year-old could be big league ready.

Crews will join a Harrisburg lineup already loaded with top prospects, including outfielders James Wood and Robert Hassell III and third baseman Brady House.

MLB Pipeline released its midseason rankings of the top 100 prospects in baseball and the top 30 for each major league team, adding the 2023 draft class and trade deadline moves, and there’s no surprise who tops the Nationals’ list.

Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick out of LSU, is the Nationals’ new top prospect, coming in at No. 1 on the team’s top 30 and No. 4 overall in the sport.

The outfielder was MLB Pipeline’s top-rated position player in this year’s draft, so it’s no wonder they hold him in high regard. But it was going to be a close call between him and fellow outfielder James Wood, who has been the Nats’ top prospect since the end of last season.

Wood is now the Nats No. 2 prospect (such a big drop) and the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline. Both he and Crews have a major league ETA of 2024.

Third baseman Brady House is now the Nats’ No. 3 prospect while also becoming one of the highest-ranking newcomers in the top 100, landing at No. 43 after his promotion to Double-A Harrisburg earlier this summer. He rounds out the Nationals prospects in the top 100.

PHILADELPHIA – After an 8-4 loss in the doubleheader opener – in which the Phillies hit four home runs to the Nationals’ two – the plan for Washington in the nightcap was simple: keep the ball in the yard. And if you can continue to hit them out yourself, even better.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, home runs played a big role in the second game.

The Nationals were able to homer to take an early lead, homer to tie the game late and then homer to win 5-4 in the nightcap in front of 40,264 fans at Citizens Bank Park.

"As I always say, this team just keeps battling," manager Davey Martinez said after the second game. "You play hard for 27 outs, anything can happen in this ballpark. You just got to try to get the ball in the air."

Facing a 4-2 deficit thanks to a Bryce Harper two-run home run and Bryson Stott RBI single in the fifth, Joey Meneses responded with a two-run shot of his own in the seventh.

Remember how everything went so well for the Nationals over the weekend? How they played crisp, clean, aggressive, winning baseball against the contending Giants and emerged with their first three-game sweep in more than two years?

Well, the Nats took the field tonight looking to keep those positive vibes going against the National League’s worst team and proceeded not to do anything they did well the previous three days.

During the course of a 10-6 loss to the Rockies, the Nationals looked nothing like the best version of themselves that had just been on display. They got a poor start out of Patrick Corbin. They did next-to-nothing at the plate against a couple of unheralded Colorado pitchers. They were charged with two errors in the field. They ran into one of the most egregious outs on the bases you’ll see all year. They were called for a balk when the pitcher turned to make a pickoff attempt at first base only to realize the runner wasn’t being held on.

"We made some mistakes," manager Davey Martinez said. "A couple of mistakes uncharacteristic to ourselves."

So it was the Nats failed to pull off their first four-game winning streak since June 27-30, 2021, back when Kyle Schwarber was launching home runs and Trea Turner was hitting for the cycle for a ballclub that believed it could compete for another World Series title.

Dylan Crews will soon arrive at the Nationals’ spring training facility in West Palm Beach and start getting acclimated to his new organization. It will be a two-way street of him getting to know his new coaches and the coaches getting to know their new player.

Someone who already knows Crews well as a player and as a person is his college coach: LSU head coach Jay Johnson.

Johnson, who attended Crews’ introductory press conference on Saturday donning a purple sports coat, was beaming while talking about the second of his former players who went Nos. 1-2 overall in this year’s draft.

“I think it’s the combination (of) that's an elite player, that’s an elite person,” Johnson said of Crews to a group of gathered media members at the conclusion of the press conference. “I think if you stack up his three seasons of college performance, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody any better. But there’s this humility that he plays with, this edge that he plays with, this ability to lift everybody up and make everybody else around him better on top of these baseball tools that show up every single day to help his team win. I mean, it’s a truly special player. After not going number one, there was really no decision, probably, for Washington to select him.”

Johnson’s first head coaching job came in 2014 at the University of Nevada. After two seasons with the Wolfpack, he accepted the gig at the University of Arizona, where he coached for six seasons before leaving to become the head coach at LSU in 2021.