LSU baseball outfielder Dylan Crews has been selected by the Washington Nationals with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Crews, a junior, had one of the best seasons in recent memory for a college positional player at the Division I level this spring.

At 6-foot and 205 pounds, the Florida native and former Lake Mary High School star won this year's Golden Spikes Award, was named the 2022-23 SEC Male Athlete of the Year and is a two-time recipient of the SEC Player of the Year Award.

Crews posted a .426 batting average, a 1.280 on-base plus slugging percentage, hit 18 home runs and reached base in every game this season. He also had a .405 batting average and recorded more walks than strikeouts during SEC play, all while finishing his LSU career on a 75-game on-base streak.

Here's what the Nationals are getting in Crews.

Strengths

There are many reasons why Crews has been hailed as one of the best college baseball draft prospects in recent memory.

For one, Crews excels in every aspect of the game offensively.

He has major league ready plate discipline – drawing 25 more walks than strikeouts – and improved his ability to consistently make contact with the ball every year he was in Baton Rouge, as his quick hands and elite bat speed allow him to reach virtually any pitch in the strike zone.

Crews doesn't just hit the ball with consistency, he also hits it with authority, posting a career-high slugging percentage this season and blasting at least 18 home runs in each of his three years at LSU. He isn't an elite threat on the base paths, but Crews does have the speed to steal some bases and is a smart baserunner.

On defense, Crews runs clean routes to the ball and almost never makes a bad read. He has the speed to play center field – at least for now – but if he were to move to a corner outfield spot he'd likely be a Gold Glove candidate in left or right field in the future.

Weaknesses

Crews isn't a freakish athlete with elite speed or agility.

That's not to say that Crews' athleticism is inadequate or a weakness, but it's not his greatest strength either. For example, some scouts have questioned whether he is fast enough to play center field at the major league level.

Because of Crews' lack of freakish tools, some could question how high his ceiling is as a prospect. Could he be the next Ronald Acuna Jr. or Mike Trout? Or do his physical tools prevent him from reaching that MVP ceiling?

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Overall

Crews is a once-in-a-generation college baseball prospect who had one of the greatest careers in LSU baseball history, guiding the Tigers to their seventh national championship in his last season.

He lived up to the hype surrounding him out of Lake Mary High School, as he likely would've been a first-round pick in the 2020 draft before he pulled his name out of the draft (his senior year ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

No matter which team selects him, Crews is at worse a probable long-time MLB starter, all while having potential to be a future MVP and Hall of Famer.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Washington Nationals select LSU baseball Dylan Crews in MLB Draft 2023