When Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile debuted in late May, his future of staying at the MLB level was uncertain.

The Nationals are plentiful in young, talented outfielders at the MLB level and in the minor leagues. Lile got his shot due to his outstanding hitting statistics in Triple A Rochester, along with injuries to outfielders. Injuries to the ultra-athletic Jacob Young and highly appraised LSU alum Dylan Crews catapulted the 22 year old into a temporary starting role, along with fellow Rochester outfield call-up, Robert Hassell. While Lile’s glove shined, his hitting was subpar, and he would be demoted back to Triple-A Rochester when Young came back off the injured list.

However, 11 days later, Lile would get his shot at the big leagues for a second time with a demotion to the previously mentioned Robert Hassell III. This time, however, he would stay for good.

Fast forward to the end of his first big league season, and Lile is proving that he deserves his place at the big league level. In just 91 games, Lile led all rookies in triples (11), batting average (.299), slugging (.498), and OPS (.845). Lile’s September explosion awarded him both NL Rookie and Player of the Month honors by the MLB.

In his 25 games, Lile ended up with a .391 batting average, 1.212 OPS, six home runs, seven triples, along with 19 runs batted in. Lile is only the 11th player in MLB history to win both rookie and player of the month in the same month. When Lile was asked about how to describe his breakout performance in September, he remarked that it was “Special, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do this”.

“He’s got super quick hands,” fellow outfielder James Wood said. “It feels like you can’t really get fastballs by him.”

Lile’s standout season has differentiated himself in a wide pool of young Nationals outfielders, identifying him as a possible cornerstone to the Nationals future.