Can you feel it? The air’s a little crisper and the shadows a little longer, which can only mean one thing – playoff baseball is just around the corner.

It’s an exciting time of the year for us seamheads as we’ve reached the part of the season where compelling prospects and youth options get to showcase their talents for their teams – and we get to reap the benefits. But as thrilling as it is to be a part of a tight Wild Card race, sometimes the most gripping aspect is the first taste of major league action for a star soon to be born.

While not every September surge guarantees future success (I’m still a believer in Ian Anderson!) we’ve seen plenty use that time as a launching pad for their career. The names below may just do the same.

Dylan Crews – OF – WSH – 38% Yahoo, 68% CBS

Is Crews the Robin to James Wood’s Batman? It’s too soon to tell – maybe they swap roles! – but nonetheless, the Nationals now have a fearsome duo patrolling the outfield in D.C., as Crews received the callup for his Major League debut this week.

Drafted second overall in the 2023 draft and ranked FanGraphs’ sixth overall prospect in 2024, Crews is a legitimate power-speed option to familiarize yourself with before he gets snatched up in your leagues. His overall numbers this season don’t jump off the page (.270/.342/.451 with 13 homers and 25 steals in 100 games across Double- and Triple-A) but that’s a good reminder that we don’t always scout the statline – we scout the player and their tools.

And Crews most definitely has loud tools – though he’s only been graded with a 45 FV hit tool (on a scale of 20 to 80), his combination of 60 FV game power and 60 FV speed gives him a baseline value in fantasy that can’t be ignored. At his peak, we could see seasons similar to what we saw from Bobby Witt Jr. prior to this year’s breakout – approximately 20-25 home runs with 30+ steals and an OPS around .800.

League size recommendation: 10-team leagues

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