Daylen Lile has shown promise, but has never truly broken out. Will that come in 2025?
Since being selected out of high school in the second round of the 2021 draft, Daylen Lile has been solid every step of the way. However, he has never had that true breakout season to push him up the Nationals prospect rankings. He has held serve so far, not doing anything to hurt his stock, but not making any massive leaps either. Can 2025 be the year where Lile finally breaks down the door and forces his way on the Nats roster?
After an uneasy start to his pro career that included rookie ball struggles and Tommy John Surgery in 2022, Lile has been marching through the Minor Leagues the last two seasons. When he came back in 2023, Lile performed well. He showed off his above average hit tool, and advanced approach, posting an .807 OPS across two levels.
Lile struggled a bit once he got to High-A, but given the extreme pitching friendly environment of Wilmington, that can be excused. In 2024, after recovering from a scary injury suffered during Spring Training, he returned to Wilmington, where he performed well. After 57 games, he was promoted to Double-A.
In Harrisburg, Lile held his own, with a .255 average and .343 OBP, but he struggled to impact the ball. His .371 slugging percentage indicates his lack of power. Lile’s lack of over the fence power is what is holding him back from being a top 100 prospect. In 2024, he only hit 6 home runs in 485 at bats.
While Lile is a good athlete, he is more of a corner outfielder than a true centerfielder. This puts more pressure on the bat, making his lack of power more of an issue. Lile is not Jacob Young levels of homer shy, with the potential to be a 15-20 home run guy if everything comes together. However, it is something he needs to do to take his game to the next level. He has an advanced feel to hit and hits the ball in the air a good amount, so there is hope he can translate that to more home runs.
It is the one way he can become a breakout star. A lot of the other tools are there, but his profile would massively enhanced by even average power. The Nationals have a ton of young outfielders, so finding a spot for Lile could be tricky. He is a player I could see becoming trade bait, if Mike Rizzo wanted to explore upgrading the roster via the trade market.
Between James Wood, Dylan Crews, Jacob Young, Robert Hassell, and Lile, there is a surplus of outfielders in the Nationals organization. While the first two are untouchable, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of Young, Hassell, or Lile could be on the trade block, especially if the Nats take Jace Laviolette with their number one overall pick.
Lile is a solid player with a lot of average to above average tools across the board, but if the power does not develop, he might be a bit of a tweener. Not good enough defensively to be a center fielder, but not quite good enough of a hitter to be an impact corner outfielder. However, if he taps into some power, his stock will skyrocket.