Crews-Skenes showdown will have to wait until '25

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. This edition was written by MLB.com's Jake Crouse. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- Though Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes spent plenty of time together as they rose to baseball stardom, this weekend’s series between the Nationals and Pirates marked the first time that the top two overall picks in the 2023 Draft shared the same field as Major Leaguers.

Unfortunately, we won’t see the highly anticipated matchup of Pittsburgh’s Skenes and Washington’s Crews this time around. Fans are bummed, but the two know that day will eventually come.

“I try to be present every day, really,” Crews said. “I mean, yeah, you hear about it, but whenever that is, we’ll be ready for it.”

The laser focus on the game at hand over the hype is part of what helped the two become collegiate stars with the LSU Tigers. Evaluators went back and forth leading up to the Draft as to which player would be a better No. 1 pick. By the time it arrived, the Pirates were locked in on Skenes. The rookie All-Star said he didn’t talk to the Nationals too much during the process.

Not to mention, both players were locked in on another huge goal while all the No. 1 vs. No. 2 hype was building: Winning it all in Omaha.

“We were so focused on winning the national championship that year, we never really talked about it,” Crews said. “When we got drafted, we celebrated, had a little dinner together, had some lunches together. But we were just focused on winning that national championship. We knew we had a special team.”

A little over a year after celebrating the final out of their 2023 national championship title, Crews and Skenes are showing off at the MLB level. Skenes was projected to be one of the quickest risers in the Draft class, but was he surprised to see how rapidly Crews arrived?

“No, not at all, and especially [since] I got a whole year to work with him and most of the offseason, too,” Skenes said. “So, I know who he is as a person and a player. He’s going to do whatever it takes.

“He’s just a pro, and I could see that from the first day that -- I mean I played with him [on Team] USA for two summers before that. It’s different. It’s just a different person, different worker. Especially being up here and seeing him in a big league clubhouse, he’s going to be really good just because of how he goes about his business.”

Crews credits that work ethic and routine to his coaches at LSU. The transition from the Minors to the Majors is hard enough, but Crews felt prepared for anything once his name was called.

“You have a great coaching staff over there who prepares you every day professionally, in a professional manner,” Crews said. “While you’re there, you feel like a professional. So when you get to a professional atmosphere, it’s nothing new.”

Crews has only 11 games under his belt, but he’s already showing signs of what he can become. In Game 1 of the Nationals’ doubleheader against the Pirates on Saturday, he became one of just nine rookies in Nats history (since 2005) to have at least two extra-base hits and a stolen base in a single game. That included Crews’ third homer, which traveled a Statcast-projected 404 feet. He’s also made plenty of great plays in center and right field.

Skenes vs. Crews was a hotly debated topic in 2023. It was a matchup everyone hoped to see this weekend. And though we won’t get to see the head-to-head showdown this season, the Nationals love what they’re seeing from their pick.

“That class has been really special,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I’m glad that we’ve got one of them in Dylan Crews. I think this kid is going to be really special.”