Two Nationals Rookies Cracked Top 50 List, Gives Team More Future Building Blocks
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If the Washington Nationals are going to get back into contender status, they have to find multiple players on this major league roster and in their pipeline to build around.
Coming into the 2025 season, there appeared to be three clear guys; MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and James Wood. While Gore had second half struggles in the past, he also showed his high-end stuff. Abrams was coming off an All-Star selection and Wood had an incredible campaign when he was called up for his debut in the summer that made this trio look like the clear cornerstones.
Dylan Crews was supposed to add his name to that group, but a rough showing from him now has his ceiling in question. Thankfully, there were two Nationals rookies who performed well this year, and it earned them a spot on the Top 50 Rookies List put together by Bleacher Report.
Daylen Lile, Brad Lord Make Top 50 Rookies List
Brad Lord came in at No. 39 and Daylen Lile came in at No. 21. Considering both players were under the radar when it came to the pantheon of young players who could impact Washington in 2025 and beyond, that is a great sign going forward.
Lord, the right-handed pitcher who was converted into a reliever until he was needed as a starter, finished the year with a 4.34 ERA across 48 appearances (19 starts). The 130 2/3 innings was the fourth-most out of any Nationals pitcher, and he showed some real bright spots when on the mound.
Lile, a top 30-ranked prospect coming into the season, took the baseball world by storm in the second half of the year and September. He finished with a .299/.347/.498 slash line across 99 games in the regular season, but slashed .333/.380/.576 after the All-Star break with 10 of his 11 triples, seven of his nine home runs and 33 of his 41 RBIs coming in the second half.
Daylen Lile and Brad Lord Now Look Like Build Blocks
The emergence of these two is a great sign for the Nationals since they need more major league-caliber arms and consistent offensive players. There's no doubt that Lile has a higher ceiling than Lord, but both are going to be part of the equation going forward.
When it comes to Lord, whether he sticks in the rotation or becomes a long reliever/swingman isn't clear. The numbers from the 2025 season suggest he's better in relief, with him posting a 2.79 ERA across 29 appearances out of the bullpen, while his ERA as a starter was a 4.99.
Washington might try to give Lord an opportunity to earn a starting role with an offseason of work heading into spring training. That unit had clear issues this year, so if he's able to build upon his rookie season, then he could become an important part of this rotation.
As for Lile, what he did when he was called up was special. While he was overlooked coming into the year, that won't be the case when the Nationals take the field in 2026, as Lile appears like he could be a real difference maker in the nation's capital for some time.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai