WATCH: Nationals rookie Dylan Cruz hits first MLB home run

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Dylan Crews and Paul Skanes were two of LSU’s best players in the 2023 College World Series: national-championship winners. Skanes was taken first in the draft, debuted in the majors less than a year later, started the All-Star Game and already looks to be an ace on the field. Crews has clearly been outclassed, but he has also made rapid progress.

The center fielder was selected second in the draft, made his Major League debut Monday and went deep for the first time on Wednesday.

According to Statcast, it came off the bat at 105.4 mph and traveled 399 feet. This was not a cheap homer by any means, as it would have gone in all 30 ballparks.

With that at-bat, Cruz started his MLB career 3-for-8 (.375), including a double and a home run. Pretty good start.

Crews, 22, hit .426/.567/.713 with 18 homers in 71 games in his final year at LSU. In 49 Triple-A games this season before the promotion, he hit .265/.340/.455 with 10 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 30 RBI, 34 runs and 10 steals.

With lefty-swinging left fielder James Wood — who is in the midst of a stellar rookie season — the Nationals will have a little more than a month to showcase their future cornerstones in the outfield here in 2024. Heading into the 2024 season, Ranking CBS Sports’ future guru RJ Anderson Crews was ranked the fifth-best player in baseball, while Wood ranked sixth.

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