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Nationals Breakout Starting Pitcher Named Team's Hidden Gem

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 12:00 PM ET

There hasn't been much for the Washington Nationals to take out of this season.

They drastically underperformed both internal and external expectations. CJ Abrams turned in another good performance but nothing that was groundbreaking. Both James Wood and MacKenzie Gore saw their production fall off a cliff in the second half. And the injury to Dylan Crews limited his development.

However, two things have stood out this season: Daylen Lile's arrival as a rising star and Brad Lord's emergence as a real pitching option for them going forward. The ascension of both players has come at a perfect time, but for the most part, Lile's largely was expected since he was a second-round pick of the 2021 draft.

Lord, on the other hand, was largely an unknown. Selected in the 18th round of the 2022 draft, the right-hander wasn't viewed by anyone as a future big-time pitcher for the Nationals. Even after his impressive showing in 2024 when he posted a 2.43 ERA across 24 minor league starts, he wasn't considered a top 30 prospect in Washington's pipeline.

Brad Lord Named Washington Nationals' Hidden Gem

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Considering where Lord was drafted, his low profile coming up the pipeline and his emergence into a real piece of the equation for the Nationals going forward, it should come as no surprise that Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named the 25-year-old the team's hidden gem of this season.

"He has seven holds and three quality starts, joining Cincinnati's Nick Martinez as the only other pitcher this season with at least three of each ... If the Nats don't go out and acquire a veteran arm or two this winter, Lord may well be their No. 4 starter," he wrote.

Washington initially had Lord pitching out of the bullpen, a transition from being a starting pitcher like he had been coming up the minor league ranks. But when poor performances and injuries created an opening in the rotation, the Nationals called upon Lord to fill that need.

His ERA on the season sits at 4.18 across 46 total outings with 17 of them being starts. That would be even lower if it weren't for two blowup starts he had at the end of August when he allowed six earned runs and seven earned runs in back-to-back outings.

It will be interesting to see if the Nationals view him as a long-term starting pitcher going forward. But based on how he's performed this year after coming out of nowhere, he should be in the running to earn a spot next spring.