Cubs will avoid facing a former Nationals first-round pick on Opening Day

The Washington Nationals are one of the easier Opening Day draws the Chicago Cubs have had in recent years, and with Cade Cavalli (career 5.09 ERA) hand-picked as the former's starter of choice for Game 1 of 162, the odds are good that the North Siders can start the 2026 season with a bang.

That draw is beginning to look even more favorable now, following reports that the Nationals have demoted former top prospect Dylan Crews to Triple-A.

Still just 24 years old, this marks a precipitous fall from grace for Crews, who was the second overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU. In his stead, Daylen Lile is expected to garner the majority of the appearances in right field in Washington D.C.

Dylan Crews' demotion makes life easier for the Cubs this week

One thing to note about Lile is that he's a left-handed batter with a career 91 wRC+ against southpaws. That's actually a big improvement over what Crews has done in his short career (44 wRC+ against lefties), but the demotion will still be music to Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd's ears.

Boyd has made a living off shutting down lefties, holding same-sided batters to a .662 OPS and .287 wOBA throughout his career. The Nationals could opt to start Joey Wiemer on Opening Day to avoid the tough matchup, but he's not exactly known for a thunderous stick (74 wRC+).

No matter how the specifics play out, Crews sitting out this series is a boon for the Cubs based on his pedigree alone. He was a top-10 prospect in all of baseball in both 2024 and 2025, crushing minor-league pitching after his legendary career in Baton Rouge. He wasn't awful in his MLB debut in 2025, but a really rough spring — he had a -19 wRC+ in 12 spring training games at the time of his demotion — all but ensured he'd fall short of the Nationals' Opening Day roster.

The Nationals series marks the beginning of what should be a very favorable introduction to 2026 for the new-look Cubs. After they leave town, the hapless Angels will follow. Then, there's a road trip to Cleveland and Tampa Bay before a brief return to Wrigley Field to welcome the Pirates into town.

Things get a lot tougher after that (the Cubs close out April with the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, and Padres), but there's a lot of stackable wins available early on. Hopefully, Chicago will take advantage of a sub-optimal Nationals squad out of the gates.