The 2.33 MPH reason to believe even more in Nationals' Daylen Lile
The 2.33 MPH reason to believe even more in Nationals' Daylen Lile originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Daylen Lile was already a promising young player before this season began.
Now, though, there's another reason to believe in the Washington Nationals ' outfielder.
Lile has increased his bat speed this season by 2.33 miles per hour.
Last season, his average swing speed was 68.82 MPH. This season, it's 71.15 MPH.
MORE: Terrance Gore's son honors dad with perfect first pitch
Lile, just 23 years old, was a second-round pick by the Nationals in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky.
He made his MLB debut last season and appeared in 91 games. He hit 15 doubles, 11 triples and nine home runs while batting .299.
In the very early going this season, Lile has a .333 average (4-for-12) with a double.
Bat speed isn't everything but it definitely matters for power. The slowest bat speeds in baseball belong to guys who are contact hitters, like Luis Arraez and Steven Kwan . Most of the best home run hitters lie in the upper echelon of the bat speed charts.
Lile isn't swinging as fast as some of the sluggers, but the swing speed increase is a positive sign for his future, to be sure. It was already a bright career ahead, and now it might be even better.
