Heading into the season, Daylen Lile was one of the players I was most excited to see. He was coming off a stellar rookie season that was capped off by winning NL Player of the Month in September. However, he has been unable to recapture that magic for most of this season and last night’s Golden Sombrero felt like rock bottom.
Two of the things that made Lile so dominant last season was his confidence and his swing decisions. When he was at the dish towards the end of last season, Lile looked like he was in a flow state. Last night though, Lile was caught in between. He was really trying to be more selective, but in the end, he was taking strikes and swinging at balls.
Last season, Lile’s swing decisions were his super power, but now they are his achilles heel. In 2025, Lilechased just 26.7% of the time while swinging at pitches in the zone at a 75.4% clip. Chasing less than the average hitter while being ultra-aggressive in the zone is a rare skill.
However, it is not a skill that has translated this season. Lile’s zone swing rate of 75.9% remains relatively unchanged. His chase rate has ballooned to 39% though. The swing decisions are pretty much the root of all Lile’s offensive issues this season. His exit velocities and launch angles remain nearly identical. It is the swing decisions that have doomed Lile’s sophomore season.
It is really jarring to see the drop in numbers. Last season, Lile hit .299 with an .845 OPS. This year, those numbers are down to .241 and .691. Seeing a player with the pure hitting ability of Lile batting just .241 is shocking to see. Even if Lile was to regress this season, I thought it would be due to a dip in power rather than him just not hitting for average.
A player as gifted as Lile should not have an 88 wRC+. This is a negative season for Lile, don’t get me wrong, but I still think the talent is there. Even this year, he has had his moments, particularly against the Reds. He has 15 homers on the year, which is impressive. His defense has also taken major steps.
Honestly, the work he put in defensively may have come at the cost of his bat. Just about every clip I saw from Lile this offseason was him working on his defense. That made a lot of sense given his -10 Fielding Run Value. The work he put in has paid off as well. This season Lile is at +3 FRV. However, it seems like that work may have come at the expense of his bat.
Unlike Dylan Crews, I do think Lile has shown enough both last season and even this year to have a starting job in 2027. Next season is a huge year in Lile’s development though. The 23 year old will have to show that 2025 was no fluke and that he can be a productive regular.
I think Lile has it in him and that this season will help him in the long run. Blake Butera has spoken multiple times about how Lile is very hard on himself. I believe that this year will help Lile be better able to deal with failure and it will teach him some real lessons.
Simply put, Daylen Lile has been punched in the mouth by the baseball gods this year. He can either get off the mat or stay down. Based on what I know about Lile, I think he will get off the mat. It might not be this season, but he will get up eventually. The talent and work ethic is just too strong for me to give up on. However, this has been a true sophomore slump and hopefully Lile comes out the other side better than ever.
