Can Washington Nationals Daylen Lile carry his 2025 momentum into 2026?

Daylen Lile just celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday. This past year has been a big one for Lile, who has gone from a sleeper prospect to a foundational piece of the Nationals future. His ridiculous second half run this season captivated fans and gave him a top five finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Going into 2025, Daylen Lile was just another prospect competing for a spot in the crowded Nationals outfield. Honestly, he was on the outside looking in. Lile had a decent season in 2024, splitting time between High-A and Double-A. However, he was nothing special, with a .262 average and a .735 OPS. He was looking like a tweener, who was a nice hitter, but did not really have a standout skill.

That changed in 2025 though. He came out of the gates red hot in Double-A, hitting .319 with an .845 OPS in 21 games at the level before getting promoted. Lile had become a top 10 prospect in the system and put his name firmly on the team’s radar.

The crazy thing was that he got even better when he was promoted to Triple-A. In the 17 games he played in Rochester before getting promoted, Lile was hitting an insane .361. When Jacob Young and Dylan Crews went down in late May, he gave the Nats no choice but to promote him.

However, things were bumpy at first. Lile played in 11 games, where he only hit .194 before being demoted back to AAA. The at bats looked solid and he did not look overmatched, but the results were not there. With not much AAA seasoning, it made sense to send him back down.

That second stint in AAA was short lived though. He was only there for a week before coming back to the big leagues for good. Again, it was a slow burn at first, but Lile started to get better and better. Even when he struggled, the underlying numbers suggested a turnaround was coming.

That turnaround came in a big way during the second half of the season, especially in September. Lile was just mashing in his second half run. He hit .333 with a .956 OPS after the All-Star Break.

Daylen Lile also became the king of the triple. He hit 11 of them this season, which tied the Nats franchise record. In the Minors, he was also a triple master, hitting 25 of them in his MILB career. This ability makes a lot of sense given his play style. The 2021 second round pick has a knack for hitting balls in the gap and his 92nd percentile sprint speed allows him to fly around the bases.

I would not be surprised at all if Lile breaks the Nats single season record for triples and could break the franchise record if he is around long enough. Right now Trea Turner has the most triples in Nationals history with 32, so Lile is already over a third of the way there. If you include the Expos, the record is 82, which is held by Tim Raines.

That 82 is a lofty goal, but if Lile plays for the Nats over the next decade, this could be possible. It is so exciting to see him fly around the bases and use that crazy speed. The next step for Lile is to translate that speed into defensive ability. Despite that athleticism, Lile posted -8 OAA last year and looked uncomfortable in the outfield.

However, given his youth and athleticism, I have faith that he can become at least an average defensive outfielder. That will be a big task for the next regime. Despite all of his offensive greatness, Lile posted a good but not great 1.4 fWAR last year.

Speaking of that offensive greatness, Lile’s numbers looked great by the end of the season. He was agonizingly close to .300, hitting .299 on the season and posted an .845 OPS. Lile’s average was actually above .300 before falling below it on the last day of the season. He is still young and has all the skills to be a .300 hitter though.

That final day of the season might have been Lile’s only underwhelming game all month in September. He was a menace down the stretch, winning NL Rookie of the Month and player of the month. The only player with a higher wRC+ than him in September was Aaron Judge. Lile was also third in WAR for the month behind Judge and Cal Raleigh.

His September stats are just absurd. Lile hit .391 with 6 homers, 7 triples and a 1.212 OPS. Just night after night, Lile was a hero for the Nats. It was the most exciting month by a Nats player since at least Kyle Schwarber’s June in 2021.

Going forward, I have faith that Lile will be an excellent hitter for the Nats. While that September is not sustainable, his success from this year is no fluke. His xWOBA of .347 was in the 80th percentile of all hitters and not much lower than his .360 wOBA. So maybe Lile is due to cool down a bit, but the numbers suggest he is a very good hitter.

That .299 batting average should be where Lile lives as well. His expected batting average was actually higher than his real batting average at .305. That is due to his elite angles. Lile’s launch angle sweet spot percentage is in the 100th percentile. What that means is that he is hitting the ball at an optimal angle super often. He hits a ton of line drives and can pull flyballs as well.

While Lile’s exit velocities are far from elite, he still has some power due to those angles. He pulls the ball in the air over 20% of the time, which leads to him outslugging his exit velocities. Lile is likely never going to be a 25 plus homer guy, he has the skills to hit 18-20 as he matures.

However, Lile’s game is not about home runs. At his core, Lile is a line drive hitter who makes a ton of contact. He can drive the ball all around the yard, but is also a threat with that power. His style of hitting makes him so exciting to watch. This is only the beginning for Daylen Lile and I hope he is a National for a long time.