Top 125 Black MiLB Prospects 2025 - Tier One

Many of the players in the first tier of this list are going to make a notable impact during the late 2020s and early 2030s that is going to take a lot of people by surprise

Introduction

The Red Black Green Baseball Blog’s Top Prospects list for 2025 will feature 125 Black active prospects in MiLB/MLB from throughout the African diaspora separated into five different tiers based on a variety of criteria. Unlike a previous “Top Black Prospects” list published by Red Black Green Baseball that solely featured position players, starting pitchers and relievers will be included. The prospects in the first tier are teenage phenoms with high ceilings and skilled players in their early or mid-20s with high floors. Many of these individuals are going to make a notable impact during the late 2020s and early 2030s that is going to take a lot of people by surprise, even though the foundation was set for these Black prospects to flourish by active Black players in MLB such as African-American Mookie Betts, Afro-Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor, and Canadian-Jamaican Josh Naylor. The African diaspora’s relationship with baseball is growing stronger despite the entrenched narrative that is focused on hand-wringing over the lack of active African-American players in MLB. From Uganda to the state of Georgia, Black Baseball Culture is quietly growing. I hope this list emphasizes that fact more than anything else. Thank you all for reading and supporting The Red Black Green Baseball Blog.

1. SS Jesús Madé, MIL

HIT: 45/50 RAW POWER: 60/70 GAME POWER: 50/60 SPEED: 70/60

BASERUNNING: 60/60 FIELDING: 45/60 THROWING ARM: 55

Jesús Madé is a 6’2’’, 180 pound Afro-Dominican shortstop from San Cristobal who is built like a SEC slot receiver with elite athleticism that he puts to use in every facet of the game. He was signed by the Milwaukee front office during the 2024 signing period for international amateur prospects and exploded onto the professional scene with one of the best offensive performances by a shortstop in the Dominican Summer League’s entire history. Barring injury or a work-stoppage because of the CBA expiration, the switch-hitter is on a trajectory to make his MLB debut in late 2026 or 2027 after going .285/.379/.413 and finishing 2025 in Double-A after starting with the Brewers Low-A affiliate. Madé has also shown leadership skills, a high baseball IQ, and maturity beyond his years during his brief professional career.

Madé is an aggressive switch-hitter with quick hands who works from a slightly squatted stance with little noise in his setup or swing. He has a feel for hitting line drives and fly balls to all fields to accrue extra-base hits at a high rate from both sides of the plate. He consistently generates above-average bat speed and swings with intention in the batter’s box. He crushes fastballs and knows how to punish opposing pitchers when they leave secondary pitches in the zone that he can handle. His ability to recognize spin and overall plate approach are both above-average and very well could be plus as he accumulates more experience as a professional. He plays with a high motor on the base paths(47 SBs in 2025) and in the field as well. Defensively, he has above-average range to all directions with a quick transfer from glove to throwing hand. He has above-average arm strength and the necessary arm utility to be a full-time shortstop.

2. SP Chase Burns, CIN

FOUR-SEAM FASTBALL: 80/80 SLIDER: 70/70 CHANGEUP: 55/55

CURVEBALL: 50/50 CONTROL: 50/50 COMMAND: 40/45

Drafted by the Reds with the second overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest University, 22-year-old Chase Burns is the most talented African-American rookie starting pitcher to wear a MLB uniform since David Price’s meteoric rise during the late 2000s. He started 2025 with Cincinnati’s High-A affiliate and finished the season on the Reds 25-man roster after posting an absurd 1.91 ERA across 13 minor league starts. Standing 6’3’’ and weighing 210 pounds with broad shoulders and thick thighs, Burns has the prototypical build of a starting pitcher. He is a 90th percentile athlete, which allows him to utilize a somewhat noisy delivery with a high arm slot to generate elite velocity while still being able to throw strikes. The talented right-hander will have the full 2026 season to establish himself in the Reds starting rotation after climbing through the minors less than a calendar year after he was drafted.

Burns’ arsenal features a 80-grade four-seam fastball that sits 97-98 miles per hour and regularly reaches 100. His four-seam fastball’s shape features optimal attributes to induce whiffs and weak pop ups because of its high amount of rise and lack of horizontal movement. His slider is also an 80-grade pitch, as it has a two-plane death ball shape and an average velocity of 90 miles per hour. He also possesses an above-average changeup and an average curveball that he rarely throws to right-handed or left-handed hitters. He throws his fastball and slider more than 85% of the time, so implementing more changeups and/or curveballs will be the key for Burns to take steps forward towards his immense ceiling. Despite having some of the best pitch shapes in professional baseball and an earned reputation of being a strike thrower, he is prone to leaving offerings in locations that opposing hitters in MLB can take advantage of.

3. SS/3B Sebastian Walcott, TEX

HIT: 40/45 RAW POWER: 70/70 GAME POWER: 50/70 SPEED: 60/55

BASERUNNING: 60/60 FIELDING: 45/55 THROWING ARM: 70

Sebastian Walcott has the potential to be the greatest Bahamian baseball player of all time. The right-handed hitting and throwing infielder would be a top-3 pick in most draft classes if he was eligible to be drafted out of high school. He was pushed from the Dominican Summer League to High-A during his first season of professional baseball in 2023. In 2024 he firmly established himself as one of the top prospects in all of baseball by slashing .265/.344/.452 across 121 games with the Rangers High-A and Double-A affiliates. He held his own in the Double-A Texas League in 2025 while being almost five years younger than the average player with a .255/.355./386 slash line across 124 games.

Walcott bats and throws right-handed, standing 6’4’’ and weighing 190 pounds with the frame of a NBA shooting guard. He generates top-tier bat speed, having already logged multiple batted ball events with exit velocities above 110 miles per hour. He works with very noisy swing mechanics because of his long arms and struggles to cover the inside half of the plate effectively. His swing is very handsy and does not implement his lower half well, leading him to get out of sync fairly often. This has led to Walcott having a grooved swing that is only effective in certain parts of the strike zone. His ability to put together good at-bats with sound plate discipline and a strong batter’s eye for his age compensates for his issues making contact, but improving his swing mechanics and bat path will be paramount for Walcott’s future success.

When playing shortstop, he has great range charging in but needs to improve going after balls put in play to his left or right. His plus-plus throwing arm and respectable transfer skills make up for his lack of range. He also needs to shorten his crow hop and improve his inadequate internal clock. All in all, Walcott looks like a toolsy yet relatively unexperienced teenager competing with and against individuals with far more familiarity playing at the pace of the upper minors. He is a much better defender at third base, showing adequate range in all directions along with a throwing arm that has more than enough strength. With Marcus Semien and Corey Seager entrenched as the Rangers’ middle infield duo for the rest of the decade, third base may be where Walcott winds up in a year or so.

4. C Harry Ford, SEA

HIT: 55/60 GAME POWER: 50/50 RAW POWER: 55/55 SPEED: 55/50

BASERUNNING: 60/60 FIELDING: 45/50 THROWING ARM: 60

Drafted by Seattle with the 12th overall pick of the 2021 MiLB Draft directly out of high school in the Greater Atlanta area, Harry Ford has developed into one of MiLB’s more unique catching prospects. His professional career began in the Arizona Complex League during the 2021 MiLB season. The Mariners front office has kept him on a very even and methodical track, as he has never been promoted during a season except for a small cup of coffee in MLB at the end of 2025. He has performed at an above-average level at every level he’s played at, which is a huge green flag for future success. Many scouts and pundits held reservations about Ford’s defensive future as a full-time catcher, but he has dispelled those skepticisms to some degree while retaining the athleticism that made his profile so appealing to the scouts who liked him. He has improved his game calling, pitch blocking, and ability to control the opposition’s running game during his time in the upper minors.

The right-handed hitting catcher stands in the batter’s box with a slightly open stance, employing a swing with a two-hand finish and a toe tap as a timing mechanism. He makes hard contact frequently(70th percentile in AAA per Prospect Savant), but the caveat is he struggles to elevate the ball at a high rate. Despite posting low fly ball percentages throughout his career, Ford racks up extra-base hits when he does elevate the ball successfully. He also produces line drives at a very high rate. He has borderline elite on-base skills and the base-stealing chops to swipe 20-30 bags in an individual season multiple times, so he might be a Jason Kendall-esque catcher who can set the table in the top two spots of a lineup. He does very well at refusing to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone but possesses an overall approach that is very passive. He is a slightly undersized catcher at only 5’10’’ and 200 pounds flat, but is the most athletic individual in his position group, including J.T. Realmuto. If Ford has to move on from donning the Tools of Ignorance for roster construction reasons and/or poor defense, he has the athleticism to flourish as an infielder and/or outfielder. It will be interesting to see how he is deployed defensively and whether Seattle decides to keep him as Cal Raleigh has emerged as the best catcher of his generation.

5. SS Leodalis De Vries, ATH

HIT: 50/50 RAW POWER: 55/55 GAME POWER: 55/60 SPEED: 50/45

BASERUNNING: 50/50 FIELDING: 45/50 THROWING ARM: 55

18-year-old Afro-Dominican Leo De Vries of Azua is another advanced teenage shortstop who has flourished on the fast track during his relatively short professional career. He was signed by the San Diego Padres during the 2024 signing period for amateur international prospects and was immediately assigned to the Padres Low-A affiliate where he was more than four years younger than the average player, an uncommon move. The 17-year-old De Vries flourished, going .237/.361/.441 across 75 games in his first professional season. He went .255/.355/.451 during the 2025 MiLB season as an 18-year-old, starting in High-A before a midseason promotion to Double-A after being traded from San Diego to Oakland in the Mason Miller deal.

De Vries being able to post above-average offensive numbers as an 18-year-old in the upper minors is a huge sign of future productivity. He has one of the highest floors of any active teenager in MiLB because of his sound offensive skills that are hinged on his power, patience, and anticipation. The eighteen-year-old is a stocky, switch-hitting shortstop who stands 6’2’’ and weighs around 195 pounds. He works with a swing that is built for accruing extra-base hits at a high rate. It features a high setup with a slight uppercut that allows him to put fly balls in play at a very high rate to all fields. His left-handed swing is further along in its development than his right-handed swing. His anticipation, timing, and pitch recognition ability frequently puts him in position to take composed and well-timed swings at the right pitches to do damage on. Despite his middling batting averages, he does not strike out at a high rate and has posted above-average walk rates up to this point of his career. His base-stealing abilities are poor, although he has time to improve his technique. He has been a bat-first shortstop up to this point of his professional career. His range at shortstop is below-average although he has a strong throwing arm, great hands, and the instincts to be a productive defender somewhere on the infield dirt. There is also plenty of time for De Vries to improve his range at shortstop to stay at the position on a full-time basis.

6. cOF Josue De Paula, LAD

HIT: 55/55 RAW POWER: 60/70 GAME POWER: 50/60 SPEED: 45/45

BASERUNNING: 60/60 FIELDING: 35/45 THROWING ARM: 45

Born and raised in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Dominican-African-American Josue De Paula is a corner outfielder with a unique blend of patience, power, and base running prowess. A younger cousin of NBA point guards Stefon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, De Paula moved to the Dominican Republic at 13 years old to begin his professional baseball career, joining El Niche Baseball Academy in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed De Paula during the 2023 signing period for international amateur prospects and assigned him to the Dominican Summer League, where he posted one of the most complete offensive seasons in the DSL’s history. Los Angeles was pleasantly surprised by how skilled the left-handed hitting outfielder was and put him on a fast track, sending him to the full-season California League in 2023. He performed at a high level during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, creating a reputation for having a potent combination of power and speed in his profile despite below-average foot speed.

De Paula is 6’4’’ and stands around 190 pounds with a lanky and long frame that has room for more muscle. He has loose hips and a ton of mobility despite below-average foot speed. The 20-year-old is an extremely advanced left-handed hitter with a pristine approach and sublime strike zone awareness. Sometimes his careful approach can teeter on the edge of being passive by letting opponents off the hook in an attempt to draw walks. He has posted elite walk rates and top-tier on-base percentages for his entire professional career. His ability to put the bat to the ball is also above-average despite his somewhat unorthodox swing and long arms. He makes hard contact at a high rate and projects to have plus-plus raw power in the near future, but produces a lot of ground balls whenever he puts offerings in play. When he does hit the ball in the air, it often results in extra-base hits. De Paula looks to be a disruptive baserunner and has frequently found success in these situations. He consistently picks the right pitches to run on and is extremely observant of the opposing battery’s tendencies. Defensively, he has a low motor and a reputation for lacking focus and effort in low leverage situations. He has the intellect to learn how to be a great route runner and a strong throwing arm that would thrive in left or right field, but frequently misses his cut off man and takes bad routes towards catchable fly balls. He has been openly challenged by the Dodgers front office and has taken this criticism in stride. He is a very self-aware and honest player with a strong drive to be great, so time will tell if he reaches his sky-high potential. If he puts in the time to correct his defensive flaws, De Paula would become a solid threat to develop into a perennial MVP candidate.

7. SS George Lombard Jr., NYY

HIT: 45/50 RAW POWER: 55/55 GAME POWER: 45/50 SPEED: 60/60

BASERUNNING: 55/55 FIELDING: 55/55 THROWING ARM: 55

George Lombard Jr. is a 20-year-old shortstop who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2023 MLB Draft’s first round directly out of high school in the Greater Miami area, foregoing a commitment to the University of Miami to start his professional career. He is the son of former outfielder George Lombard Sr., who transitioned to a successful coaching career after bouncing between Triple-A rosters with brief cups of coffee in the majors from 1994 to 2009. Lombard Jr. behaves like the typical individual who grew up around the game as a player’s son, knowing what to do and how to do it with maturity and a sense of normalcy. Standing 6’2’’ and weighing close to 200 pounds, Lombard Jr. falls into the oversized shortstop archetype with a high floor and high ceiling. With Anthony Volpe’s lack of productivity on both sides of the ball, the keys to the shortstop position is still up for grabs in The Bronx. Lombard Jr. is on a trajectory to reach the majors in 2026 or 2027, so there might be a tailor-made opportunity for him to become the Yankees full-time shortstop for the late 2020s and early 2030s.

He crowds the plate with a balanced setup and works with a simple inside-out swing built for driving the ball to the opposite field. He employs great anticipation that he uses to spray line drives all over the place. He has slightly above-average raw power and gets to it in games, although it shows up as doubles most of the time. He is an above-average baserunner with foot speed that teeters on being plus and will probably retain his athleticism for most of his career. Defensively, his internal clock is well tuned and he has all the necessary tools to remain a full-time shortstop for the long-term future. He has adequate range and hands combined with an above-average throwing arm. Having already reached Double-A as a 20-year old, Lombard Jr. is in a position to make his MLB debut before his 22nd birthday.

8. 3B/2B LuJames Groover, AZ

HIT: 60/60 RAW POWER: 45/50 GAME POWER: 40/50 SPEED: 55/55

BASERUNNING: 45/45 FIELDING: 50/50 THROWING ARM: 50

LuJames Groover is another position player who is proving that the Greater Atlanta, Georgia is one of the African diaspora’s current epicenters for baseball, although he is one of the most underrated prospects in the entire sport. The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted the infielder in the 2nd round of the 2023 MLB Draft after a standout college career where he went .349/.420/.538 across three seasons with two different universities in North Carolina. Since being drafted, he has established himself as one of the top prospects in a farm system flooded with intriguing position players. The Diamondbacks 25-man roster has very little room for infielders as well, creating a chaotic 40-man roster situation. If Groover is not able to establish himself with Arizona, there could be teams looking for infield upgrades that might be interested in his services. He has a relatively safe floor as a productive bench player due to his strong bat-to-ball skills, athleticism, and defensive versatility. His ceiling is limited by his lack of power unless he turns out to be a hitter who can go out and get 170+ hits with another 50-75 walks year in and year out. Regardless, he has all the necessary tools and skills to be a productive every day player.

Standing 6’2’’ and weighing around 212 pounds, he has a frame that lacks positive or negative projection. Standing almost upright in the batter’s box with a mostly even stance, Groover employs a quiet pre-swing setup with a leg lift that varies and an aggressive approach that is oriented around pulling the ball. He has a borderline plus-plus hit tool, as he has routinely posted averages near or above .300 going back to his days in college. He produces line drive batted ball events at a tremendously high rate with his flat, quick swing and penchant for squaring pitches up. His flat swing path puts a cap on his ability to hit for power, although he is slowly improving at discerning which pitches to try and drive as he gains more experience. He is a respectable defender at second and third base with an average throwing arm and a decent internal clock. He has above-average speed but does not steal many bases and is mostly an average baserunner.

9. 2B Michael Arroyo, SEA

HIT: 60/60 RAW POWER: 55/55 GAME POWER: 55/55 SPEED: 40/40

BASERUNNING: 40/40 FIELDING: 40/40 THROWING ARM: 45

Afro-Colombian prospect Michael Arroyo is the most talented individual to emerge from Colombia’s amateur baseball scene since Edgar Rentería’s emergence during the late 1990s. Arroyo was born and raised in Cartagena, one of the Blackest cities in Latin America with a population over 1 million people. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners during the 2022 signing period for international amateur prospects and received the largest bonus ever given to a Colombian prospect in MLB history. The 20-year-old has lived up to his billing as one of the best hitters in his class, displaying the traits that would do well in the middle of the order throughout his professional career.

Arroyo is 5’10’’ and weighs around 200 pounds. He has a thick, stocky frame and is a below-average athlete, but has quick hands and utilizes his entire body well to generate power with a short and quiet swing. He is a right-handed batter with very easy power to all fields and an extremely strong batter’s eye that has led to sublime on-base percentages throughout his career. He has the bat speed to pull his hands in and turn on offerings placed on the inside of the dish and goes the opposite way with little effort. He has a long history of posting reverse splits against right-handed and left-handed pitchers, which is a good thing for a right-handed hitter. He is a great situational hitter with a habit for performing in the clutch and does not hit into double plays very often. He is a poor defender at second base due to his lack of athleticism and middling throwing arm, leaving him at risk to move to LF or 1B on a part-time or full-time basis. Regardless of how far he falls down the defensive spectrum, he has the hitting talent to compensate for it.

10. cOF Zyhir Hope, LAD

HIT: 45/50 RAW POWER: 60/70 GAME POWER: 50/60 SPEED: 55/50

BASERUNNING: 55/55 FIELDING: 50/50 THROWING ARM: 50

North Carolina native Zyhir Hope was one of the top high school outfielders in his class across the entire Southeastern United States but fell to the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft because of a strong college commitment. The Chicago Cubs were able to pry him away from UNC’s baseball program for a signing bonus that would typically be given to a second or third-round selection because of his athleticism and hitting prowess. He only played in 11 games during the 2023 MiLB season because of a rib fracture but posted a .286/.419/.543 slash line when he was on the field. During the offseason after his professional debut, he was one of two prospects sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with pitcher Jackson Ferris in exchange for first baseman Michael Busch and relief pitcher Yency Almonte. The left-handed outfielder was highly coveted by the Dodgers and has fit in well within the organization. He is one-third of a formidable trio alongside fellow left-handed outfielders Josue De Paula and Kendall George who could be the pieces that completes the super weapon being built in the Chavez Ravine that already features three Hall of Famers and a plethora of other All-Star level talent.

Hope works from the left-handed batter’s box with a slightly closed stance and his hands held low. He has an aggressive approach and some swing-and-miss in his game but offsets these flaws with an average hit tool and above-average on-base skills. He shows great anticipation and has a feel for hitting the ball in the air. He also generates top tier bat speed easily with his athletic frame and efficient swing that is geared for pulling balls put in play. He has some positive projection in his frame to add muscle but may have to sacrifice some speed and mobility. He has the necessary base-stealing acumen and enough raw power to join the 20/20 club multiple times if he is able to play long enough. He is an above-average defender as a corner outfielder and has a strong but inaccurate throwing arm. There are other high school corner outfielders in his age group with similar ceilings, but none have as high of a floor as Hope because of his athleticism, strength, and all-around skillset.

11. INF/OF Brice Matthews, HOU

HIT: 40/40 RAW POWER: 60/70 GAME POWER: 50/60 SPEED: 60/60

BASERUNNING: 55/55 FIELDING: 50/50 THROWING ARM: 60/60

Born and raised in the Greater Houston, Texas area, Brice Matthews has grown into professional baseball’s top superutility prospect. He was a premier two-sport athlete at Atascocita High School before a standout baseball career at the University of Nebraska as a full-time shortstop. He was selected by the Houston Astros with the 28th overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft and has established himself as the top prospect in the Astros organization with power, speed, and versatility. He made his MLB debut in 2025 but only played in 13 games, retaining his rookie eligibility. He has a close relationship with fellow Atascocita High alumnus Kendall George, who is a top prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Standing 5’10’’ and weighing around 190 pounds, Matthews has the average MLB infielder’s frame with broad shoulders but is an above-average or plus athlete. He stands in the right-handed batter’s box with a slight squat and an even stance, starting his hands low and keeping them low as he swings. The 23-year-old generates above-average bat speed with his athletic frame and a simple swing that features loft, which translates into plus power to all fields in games. As a hitter oriented around the three true outcomes, strikeouts are a frequent result for Matthews. He offsets the holes in his swing with a careful approach that gives him great success at getting on base via walks. Matthews has accrued most of his defensive appearances as a shortstop during his professional career and is an average defender at the position. During the 2025 season, he started making more appearances in the outfield along with third and second base. He seamlessly transitioned to the superutility role because of his athleticism and throwing arm in a similar manner to longtime Oakland A’s superutility player Tony Phillips, who spent most of his minor league career as a full-time shortstop. Matthews is also a borderline plus base stealer and baserunner, just like Phillips.

12. INF Jordan Lawlar, AZ

HIT: 55/55 RAW POWER: 60/60 GAME POWER: 50/55 SPEED: 55/55

BASERUNNING: 55/55 FIELDING: 55/55 THROWING ARM: 55/55

23-year-old Jordan Lawlar was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the sixth overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft, which featured a first round crowded with elite high school talent such as Jackson Jobe, Marcelo Mayer, Harry Ford, and Colson Montgomery. The Dallas, Texas native is a 6’4’’ five-tool shortstop with a premier combination of contact ability, raw power, athleticism, strong defense, and a throwing arm that gives him viability all over the diamond. Having dealt with major injuries since his amateur days, there is a huge risk that he never plays a full season in MLB or has the trajectory of his career drastically altered. With the emergence of Geraldo Perdomo as an All-Star shortstop next to 3x All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte, Lawlar is running out of room to establish himself with the team that drafted him. 2026 will be his prime chance to show he can stay healthy and perform for an entire season, or else a change of scenery might be necessary. Another team with need for viable talent on the infield could make a move for the young infielder, as his ceiling is worth taking a risk on.

Lawlar stands in the batter’s box with an open stance and high setup that features his hands held perpendicular to his ear. He uses a swing with a lot of depth in the pre-swing setup and an aggressive approach that focuses on getting out in front to drive the ball to his pull side. He balances out his aggressive approach with an ability to recognize spin and draw walks. He barrels the ball at a high rate and projects for more power than most think because of his habit for leveraging his large frame to generate bat speed. Lawlar also has more than enough juice to accrue extra-base hits to all fields because of his habit of producing line drives or fly balls during plate appearances. He has all the tools to be a long-term shortstop but would be an above-average defender at second or third base if needed. He has a strong throwing arm with the necessary arm utility to be an everyday shortstop. Lawlar is a borderline plus-plus runner in a straight line but only has above-average base-running skills. It will be interesting to see if Lawlar can establish himself in the majors, and which uniform he will be wearing when he gets his opportunity.

13. cOF Daylen Lile, WAS

HIT: 55/55 RAW POWER: 50/50 GAME POWER: 50/50 SPEED: 60/60

BASERUNNING: 45/45 FIELDING: 40/40 THROWING ARM: 50/50

22-year-old Daylen Lile is one of the biggest risers on this list, providing a boost to an outfield unit that needs complimentary pieces to put around James Wood. The athletic left-hander was drafted by Washington in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky. He persevered through long recoveries from major injuries while he was climbing through the minors. He missed the entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John Surgery on his throwing elbow and missed time in 2024 after a back injury where he wound up on a stretcher. Lile started the 2025 season in Double-A and made his MLB debut in late May. During his rookie season, he hit to the tune of .299/.347/.498 across 91 games on the Washington Nationals 25-man roster, buying himself a bevy of playing time in 2026.

Lile stands upright in the left-handed batter’s box with a slightly open stance and a quiet left-handed swing. He works with a semi-high setup, keeping his hands somewhere between his ear and shoulder. His uses his short and flat swing to make great plate coverage, although it lacks bat speed. He is a bit of a free-swinger who excels against right-handed pitchers and struggles against left-handed pitchers. Lile makes contact at an above-average rate and produces line drives at an elite rate. His speed and feel for hitting line drives into the gaps will allow him to accrue a large amount of doubles and triples sustainably. He is a plus runner but is only viable as a corner outfielder because his poor reaction time and below-average route running drastically reduces his range. The Kentucky native has time to improve, but his poor defense and struggles against left-handed pitching gives him the floor of a platoon bat that sprays line drives all over the place against right-handed pitching. Being such a defensive liability reduces his bat-first ceiling because his power output projects to be average.