Dylan Crews signs with Nationals, is slated to join a Class A squad

Dylan Crews emerged from the home dugout at Nationals Park with hitting coach Darnell Coles and headed to the batting cage to take his first hacks as a National. Behind him Saturday afternoon were kids screaming his name and adults on their tiptoes, trying to get a photo as, for the first time, they saw a player they hope will be a franchise-altering talent.

Crews officially joined the Nationals organization Saturday, agreeing to a contract after being drafted second overall less than two weeks ago. The outfielder out of LSU landed a $9 million signing bonus. That’s the second richest in MLB draft history, behind only the $9.2 million that Paul Skenes, a right-hander and his college teammate drafted No. 1, just got from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I’m ready to go,” Crews said. “Looking back, 10 years [ago], I really wouldn’t think I’d be in this position right now. I think it all starts with surrounding myself with the right people. I’m just ready to get going, and I couldn’t be happier right now. I’m looking forward to the future. It’s going to be awesome.”

The Nationals are a contact-first team. It hasn’t always worked out.

The latest piece of the Nationals’ push to return to contention is now in the fold, adding to a revamped farm system that looks significantly stronger than it did a year ago.

The Nationals had an excess of outfield talent in their farm system even before drafting Crews. James Wood and Robert Hassell III, acquired in last year’s Juan Soto trade, are at Class AA Harrisburg. Elijah Green, Washington’s first-round pick in 2022, has reached low Class A Fredericksburg, but he’s away from the team while rehabbing a wrist injury. And then there are Cristhian Vaquero, whom the Nationals spent $4.925 million to land during the 2022 international signing period, and Daylen Lile, a second-round pick in 2021.

But in Crews, the Nationals added a college bat who also is strong defensively. He won the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s best amateur player. He was a first-team all-American and the SEC player of the year — and those are just this year’s accomplishments.

“It’s always great to add a keystone type of player in the organization,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said ahead of the Nationals’ matchup with the San Francisco Giants. “… We’ve been here before.”

Rizzo said Crews will go to the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., to get acclimated to the organization before heading to a Class A affiliate — Fredericksburg or Wilmington.

From there, he will try to join elite company. Crews was the…