Why This Aggressive Platooning Approach Could Make Sense for the Nationals
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On Thursday, Washington Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile hit home run No. 18 on the season to help power his team past the Colorado Rockies to earn a split in the four-game set.
Lile, who finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season after he went on a tear to end the campaign, appears like he's about to do the same thing. That homer was his third in four days. His second half numbers look much more similar to what he did last year, and with his improved defense, the former under-the-radar prospect looks like he can be an everyday outfielder for the Nationals.
However, Paul Cubbage of Federal Baseball floated out a different idea. And it plays into Washington's propensity to utilize a platoon advantage whenever they can.
Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile Platoon Would Generate All-Star-Caliber Player
Cubbage posed the concept of platooning Lile with Dylan Crews.
Both have struggled in their respective weaker splits, but both are high-end defenders who are above average hitters in their stronger splits. Leaning into the strengths of both players would create an All-Star-caliber player in the aggregate, which just might pique the interest of this new age organization.
"162 games of a .786 OPS with above average defense and baserunning is an easy 3-4 WAR ballplayer, production that would be huge for the Nationals in a 2027 season where they likely plan on being competitive in the Wild Card hunt. Platooning Lile and Crews in the corner outfield allows James Wood to rotate between corner outfield and DH as needed, Jacob Young to patrol Center Field full time with Crews subbing in occasionally to give him days off, and perhaps a chance for the Nats to add a thumper to their lineup via free agency," Cubbage wrote.
While this idea is certainly unorthodox based on the profiles of both players -- Crews being a former No. 2 overall pick who was a top prospect in the sport and Lile being an ascending, young star -- the Nationals have not shied away playing to the strengths of their players.
Like Cubbage highlighted, the aggregate of these two in a platoon would be impactful.
-Dylan Crews vs. LHP: .284/.364/.495 slash line, five HR, 10 extra-base hits and 136 wRC+
-Daylen Lile vs. RHP: .255/.301/.461 slash line, 16 HR, 41 extra-base hits and 105 wRC+
Their combined OPS is currently .811, which would put them in the same range as Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics, Rafael Devers of the San Francisco Giants and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves. It's safe to say the Nationals would love to have one of those players on their roster, and they could create that by platooning Crews against lefties and Lile against righties.
Why This Platoon Strategy Makes Sense
I have to give Cubbage a ton of credit for coming up with this idea. This was not something that was on my radar, even after it became clear that Washington was going to experiment with using Andres Chaparro at third base against right-handers in place of Brady House.
On paper, this strategy makes a ton of sense for the Nationals. Crews has continued to struggle in the bigs when it comes to consistency at the plate. So using him in plus matchups against lefties would get the most out of him, which would, in turn, benefit the team. And on the other side, Lile has not shown that he can hit lefties at this level just yet with a 69 wRC+ across 226 plate appearances. While that is not a huge sample size, there is a massive difference between what he has done against right-handers and what he has done against left-handers.
Creating a situation where Washington would have an All-Star outfielder in the aggregate -- which would give them two alongside James Wood -- would be a massive development for the organization, especially because it's not clear if the ownership group is willing to spend for impact big leaguers yet.
At the very least, this is something to think about for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, manager Blake Butera and the other decision makers as they prepare for the 2027 campaign.
Why Nationals Likely Won't Implement This Strategy
With all of that said, it's very unlikely that the Nationals will go with this strategy on a full-time basis. Turning their 2023 No. 2 overall pick and their 2021 second-round pick into platoon players at this stage of their careers when they are 24 and 23 years old, respectively, would be shocking.
The only way they are going to reach their ceilings at the big league level is by getting everyday reps. If at some point it just never clicks for Crews and Lile continues to struggle against left-handed pitching, then they might consider going with this strategy somewhere down the line.
But, for now, don't expect Washington to go down this route, even if it looks great on paper.
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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