Dylan Crews is the Next Great Tiger Baseball Player

Alex Bregman, DJ LeMahieu and Antoine Duplantis.

That is the “aura” that exudes LSU freshman outfielder Dylan Crews according to Tiger manager Paul Mainieri.

“Dylan is one of those kids that arrives at LSU and you know there’s something different about him,” Mainieri said. “You can coach him hard if you want to but there’s hardly ever a need to because the kid is so in love with the game. He has the Bregman qualities as far as his passion for the game. I tell him he has Bregman’s passion, but he’s got LeMahieu’s swing.”

The Bregman comp is particularly fitting for a player like Crews because both players would normally have gone straight to professional baseball after being a high draft choice. But a freak injury in Bregman’s senior season of high school tanked his draft stock; and in Crews’ case the shortened 2020 draft led to him withdrawing his name from the pool and will instead be a day one starter in the outfield for the Purple and Gold.

Crews comes to LSU as the highest ranked player to go to college. He’s the No. 13 overall player according to Perfect Game and an All-American from seemingly every publication. Like Derek Stingley was on the football field or Ben Simmons on the basketball court, Crews will be the kind of freshman that’s one of the best players in his sport regardless of his age.

Checking in physically at 6’0” and 200 pounds, the Lakeland, Fla. native has obscene power and has been murdering the ball in scrimmages.

But Crews is more than just a bat, he is a legitimate five-tool player who will man right field for the next three years and be able to swipe 10 bags. He doesn’t have Giovanni DiGiacomo speed—who among us does?—but has more than enough speed to chase down fly balls and his arm is only getting stronger and more accurate.

If the bat and the plus-fielding ability hasn’t sold you on Dylan Crews, then perhaps the mindset he’s bringing to LSU will.

“My ultimate dream was to go to LSU, be an icon, be a dude there,” Crews said. “I want to get drafted out of college in 2023. I wanted to play for Coach Mainieri because the coaching staff there was all that I wanted. Throughout this whole process I wanted to go to LSU. It’s something I always wanted to do.

“I wanted to develop my game, there’s no shortcuts in baseball. There wasn’t a better opportunity I could have than LSU. I know by going there, I’ll mature as a player, I’m going to be a better outfielder, be a better hitter and experience going to Omaha and hopefully win a national championship. I want to be the best player that I can when I re-enter the draft in 2023.”