Daylen Lile’s bonkers month of September is being rewarded with plenty of hardware. Today, it was announced that Lile is both the NL Rookie of the Month and the NL Player of the Month. Both awards are well
deserved as well. Lile had one of the best months I’ve ever seen from a National and there have been some good months over the years.
The numbers Lile put up were outrageous. He hit an absurd .391 with a 1.212 OPS. Those hits were not just singles either. Lile hit 6 homers, smacked 3 doubles and hit an outrageous 7 triples. Every time you looked up, it seemed like Lile was just flying around the bases.
He led the National League in so many offensive categories, including batting average, OPS and of course triples. Lile was playing well and impressing before September, but nobody could have seen this coming.
Lile was a downright force of nature who just never stopped hitting. It is crazy to look back at where he was before the season. People knew Lile had talent, but he was behind a lot of outfielders in the pecking order. He was not bad in 2024, but a .262 average with a .735 OPS in High-A and Double-A is nothing to write home about. James Wood, Dylan Crews, Jacob Young, Robert Hassell III and maybe even Andrew Pinckney were ahead of Lile in the outfield pecking order.
However, Lile mashed in the Minor Leagues to start the season and forced the Nationals hand. He started the year in AA, and raked. Then he got to Triple-A and somehow started hitting even better. When Dylan Crews went down in May, Lile got the call.
It was a slow start for Lile in the MLB. You could see the hitting ability, but the numbers just were not there. Prior to the All-Star break, Lile was hitting just .234 with a .634 OPS. The defense was also very bad, which made him a negative WAR player.
However, his underlying offensive data was strong and eventually his real stats caught up to that. With this insane September, Lile finished the season with a .299 average and an .845 OPS with 9 homers, 15 doubles and 11 triples. At just 22 years old, that guy is a piece of the Nationals core and a potential star.
My favorite Lile moment of the month was of course his insane inside the park home run. It was an insane game against the Mets that was deep into extra innings. In the 11th, Lile crushed a ball to the wall and the Mets center fielder couldn’t make a play. Lile was just flying around those bases. I thought it would be another triple for him, but he got even more. It was an insane moment that cost the Mets a playoff spot in the end.
Daylen Lile is just one of those players that is easy to fall in love with. His swing is so easy on the eye and he just flies around the bases. Sure, he has some things to clean up defensively, but his defensive woes come from a lack of understanding rather than a lack of effort. As he gets more reps out there and learns to trust his athleticism, I think he will be a decent defender.
This month was just insane beyond belief. I am not even sure Lile himself could have seen this coming. Shohei Ohtani had one of his better months of the season, but it was not enough to beat out Lile.
I am so curious to see what is next for him in 2026. Obviously, he won’t hit nearly .400 every month, but I think he can be a .300 hitter. His line drive based approach just leads to so many hits. He also does not sacrifice his extra base hit ability as well. If a pitcher makes a mistake, Lile can make them pay dearly. I love that about him.
In the beginning of the season, Lile was a bit of an afterthought in a crowded outfield picture. Now, he is one of the Nationals foundational pieces as they enter the Paul Toboni era. A lot of things are uncertain, but we know that Daylen Lile has a starting spot. Congrats to Daylen on a month he will never forget!
