WASHINGTON -- As soon as outfielder Daylen Lile heard Triple-A Rochester manager Matthew LeCroy play “BANDIT” by Don Toliver in the Red Wings’ clubhouse after the game on Thursday night, he couldn’t believe the moment was happening.
“[I was] smiling from ear to ear,” Lile, 22, said Friday at his locker in the Nationals’ clubhouse before making his Major League debut. “Especially when I heard my walk-up song, I was like, ‘There's just no way.’ But now, I'm living my dream. So [I’m] excited.”
Lile, ranked as the Nationals’ No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline, had his contract selected after center fielder Jacob Young was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a left shoulder AC sprain. Young sustained the injury crashing into the outfield wall in Baltimore on Saturday. He felt discomfort when he tried to complete his swing motion.
“Rather than [Young] irritating it trying to keep doing what he’s doing, we decided to just give him some time off, get it right and get him back healthy,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Daylen was playing really well, so we decided to call him up as well. He’s going to get a chance to play up here. I talked to him about just continuing to do what he’s been doing in the Minor Leagues.”
Lile got the start in right field in the Nationals’ 4-0 loss to the Giants. He quelled his nerves by chewing a piece of gum, made his first defensive play on a fly ball from Wilmer Flores in the second inning and exhaled.
“I took a deep breath after that and I was like, ‘Alright, now we’re good. Let’s just go play baseball,’” Lile recalled.
Lile went 1-for-2 at the plate. The lefty batter swung at -- and connected on -- the first Major League pitch he saw. He sent a ground-ball single into left-center field off right-hander Landen Roupp for his first career hit.
“Awesome,” Martinez said. "He did really well, he really did. He looked very poised out there. He got his first hit out the way.”
A 2021 second-round Draft pick out of high school in Louisville, Ky., Lile has participated in Major League Spring Training. He began the season with Double-A Harrisburg and earned a promotion to Triple-A after 21 games. After only 18 games with Rochester, he earned a trip to the Majors.
“[I was] just staying true to myself, staying consistent, staying on my routine, knowing that I could possibly make my debut at some point this season,” Lile said. “Everywhere I went, my feet were there, and I tried not to rush anything. But it came a lot quicker than I thought.”
Between the two levels this season, Lile slashed .337/.383/.509 with a .892 OPS, nine doubles, five triples, three home runs and nine stolen bases. He led the Nats organization in batting average, OPS, hits and runs scored (30). Lile also tied for fifth among all Minor League players in hits (55) and triples.
“He’s another kid that hits the ball all over the field,” Martinez said. “[He] has got good speed, plays defense well, so I’m excited to watch him play.”
Lile is the second Rochester outfielder called up this week to make his Major League debut. Robert Hassell III (Nats' No. 11 prospect) made a standout debut Thursday in place of an injured Dylan Crews (left oblique strain). Triple-A teammates earlier this week, they started next to each other in Washington's outfield at Nationals Park on Friday.
“It feels awesome because I knew at some point Robert was going to get the callup,” Lile said. “And when he found out that I got the callup, he called me this morning. I'm just happy to be back in the outfield with him and in the same lineup.”
After missing the entire 2022 season because of Tommy John surgery, Lile debuted six months before he even turns 23. Of all the areas of his game, he noted this season he has improved the most on his defense.
“I would like to say the five-tool player, finally,” Lile said. “People knocked me on certain things, but I got better on [them] throughout the season. Like I said, I'm a scoreboard changer and I plan to do some special things up here.”
Lile described his debut experience as “surreal.” Running on little sleep from an early morning flight to Washington, D.C., he will reflect on the past 24 hours in which he became a Major Leaguer.
“It was a dream I’ve been dreaming it about since I was a little kid,” Lile said. “To go out there and see the fans and just run out there in that big outfield, it was just awesome.”