Nationals Breakout Star Daylen Lile Continues to be Overlooked by Evaluators

Was this ranking too low for Washington Nationals new star Daylen Lile?

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There's an argument that the Washington Nationals player with the most buzz surrounding him heading into 2026 is Daylen Lile.

While James Wood is always going to draw attention for his towering home runs and the ceiling of CJ Abrams is going to be tantalizing for the next few years, it was Lile who offered the most excitement down the stretch of this past season.

Because of that, he has played his way into a role of some sort. And after there were questions about who would be the long-term outfield piece alongside Wood and Dylan Crews, it became clear that Lile needs to be in the lineup one way or another going forward.

But how is Lile viewed by evaluators after the incredible close to the season he had?

Daylen Lile Considered 25th-Best Rookie Based on Long-Term Value

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Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline took a look at the rookies from the 2025 class. He ranked them in order of who he believes presents the best long-term value going forward. To no one's surprise, he had Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

However, despite the performance Lile had, Callis listed the breakout star at No. 25 on his list. He didn't give a reason as to why he had Lile so low, but this is another example of the 22-year-old being overlooked by some evaluators.

Why Daylen Lile's Ranking Was Disrespectful

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Again, since Callis didn't give a reason as to why he has Lile in the No. 25 spot, it's hard to speculate why he has him there behind the likes of Kristian Campbell, Jasson Dominguez, Luis Morales, Chase Dollander and others.

Offensively, Lile was one of the best rookies this year with a wRC+ of 132 that was fifth-best amongst qualified rookies. He trailed only Kurtz, Anthony, Luke Keaschall -- who played 49 games -- and Jakob Marsee -- who played 55 games. Lile's batting average of .299 and his slugging percentage of .498 ranked third, while his on-base percentage of .347 had him tied for eighth.

It's clear Lile is a major weapon with a huge ceiling at the plate. Not only does he use his speed well on the basepaths with 11 triples and 15 doubles, but he also flashed some pop with nine home runs across his 91 games played and can hit for average.

Defense will be the thing that holds him back if he can't figure it out, which could be a reason why he was ranked so low on Callis' list. With a value of minus-14 in defensive runs saved and minus-eight in outs above average, he'll have to improve upon that to be a viable everyday outfielder.

Still, Lile was one of the most exciting rookies across Major League Baseball this past season. And he looks like he is a clear building block for Washington's future going forward.