One of the biggest stories of the Nationals’ first week was Dillancrue’s very late start. The previous second overall pick looked lost on the plate. When he bumped, he hit the bottom of a rock 8 straights With bats.
The numbers aren’t pretty yet, but the crew are getting in touch and starting to collect base hits. The crew played multi-hit games in two of his last three games. He was also recently taken a hit by the scorekeeper.
Regardless of the outcome, the process looks great. The crew appears to be more relaxed on the plate and not overthinking things. Certainly, all his hits have been singles up until now, but they have to start somewhere. He’s been spamming bass hits in the middle of the last few nights.
As the season entered, it seemed that the book was on the crew. Pitcher’s plan was to spin him to death. In his short big league stint last year, the crew batted average Less than .100 For breaking the ball. The pitcher knew that, so did Dylan.
Ironically, three of his five hits this season have beaten the ball. But he’s having a bit of a struggle with the heater now. Hitter vs. pitcher matchup is a cat and mouse game, and for the first time the game appears to be played on crew terms.
Dylan’s next step is to start driving the ball for a base hit. We know that crews have the power to deal damage. It’s all about tapping that pop. Groundball-based hits are fine right now, but I hope they double into the gap as the crew really moves on.
Now that Dylan has settled down, he should be more comfortable making a hunting mistake and trying to pull the ball into the field sheet on the left. The crew will also become a dynamic weapon for the basepath. He has a sprint speed of the 95th percentile and looks at a comfortable swipe bag.
For the crew it’s all about playing inside of you. You could really see him tense as he was struggling. Now he appears to be much more relaxed and enjoying himself. Davy Martinez is stuck with his young outfielder throughout the struggle, and it appears to be rewarding.
His numbers are still very poor, so the crew is not yet in the woods. However, he appears to be ready to explode in the end. Luckily for him, fellow rookies like Matt Shaw and Saga Roki also struggle from the gate, so the Rookie of the Year Crown is still achievable.
I love the way the crew plays the game. He does everything and plays with a lot of passion. That may sound cliché, but he just looks like a ball player. Now it’s time to show why he was so advertised to come out of LSU. Nats spent a second pick on him and he is a big part of their future. Dilncrue has to go on and I think he will.
