James Wood and Dylan Crews entered the 2024 season looking to get their first crack at the big leagues and with both getting their first taste of MLB, it is time for a little evaluation of the two prized rookies from general manager Mike Rizzo during his weekly appearance Wednesday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
On Crews, Rizzo told The Junkies: "I think he's shown his skillset very clearly and it's the consistency that needs improvement like just about every young player that we've ever had here."
Through his first 13 big league games, the former No. 2 overall pick out of LSU has 10 hits in his first 50 at-bats with three doubles and three home runs. He also has five steals (one caught) and six walks to 10 strikeouts.
With a .721 OPS (103 OPS+ and 98 wRC+) the rookie is holding his own as he still gets used to the rhythms of the big league game.
"He's got the skillset and the temperament and the makeup to be a successful big-time player in the big leagues. And I think he's done terrific in a very short [span]," Rizzo continued. "I think he's shown everything he needs to show that he belongs here. And now he has to deal with the consistency angle and the everyday stuff of this major league season.
"He's got a lot to learn, just scratching the surface, but I think he's gonna be a really good player for us."
On Wood, Rizzo said he has "unlimited potential."
"I think he's got potential to be a really good impactful player for us, I'll just leave it at that," the GM told the Junkies. "I think he's gonna be a really good middle of the lineup guy for us and he's gonna be a guy that's impacts the game in ab positive manner for us on all sides of the ball – base running, offense, defense and inside the clubhouse.
"I think that we've got a really good special player in our midst and I think that it's gonna be enjoyable to watch him play his career here."
Wood, who was called up first and s has a larger sample size of 61 games, has tallied 62 hits in his first 227 at-bats (.273) with 11 doubles, three triples and five home runs. The 6-foot-7 outfielder has 12 steals but has been caught seven times. And his walk-to-strike ratio (31 to 76) is likely a bit higher than Rizzo would prefer.
However, Wood's .779 OPS (124 OPS+ and 121 wRC+) are very encouraging numbers for his first two months at the big league level and, hopefully, great signs heading into 2025.
One area the Junkies are mildly concerned about with Wood is his helmet keeps falling off when he runs. Rizzo – who is bald – said he couldn't comment on that, before adding, "I know he's got a lot of hair and he's moving really fast on the bases and those kinda guys [like Bryce Harper or CJ Abrams with hair] those helmets seem to eject all the time when they're running.
"But when he's running fast first-to-third, first-to-home, I like when it comes off because that means he's moving fast getting on base so it's a good thing."
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