Daylen Lile made me think of something, I choose to give away this information that is making my leagues more challenging. Daylen Lile is one of the biggest ones for me. Some of these sleepers or guys I just didn’t even write up because they’re so obvious aren’t hurting me in my leagues. Tyler Soderstrom, for unc’s sake, everyone likes him. He’s no sleeper. I didn’t even bother writing him up. He reminds me of Pete Crow-Armstrong last year, in that specific way. He’s not being written because everyone likes him, not because they’re similar in any other way, stats-wise. But when I get in leagues with ‘perts and they say stuff to me like, “I saw you hated Luis Robert Jr. last year…” Or, “I saw you liked Daylen Lile this year…” That’s a disadvantage. I don’t know who other people like. It feels especially relevant for this post. Not because I’m the only one who likes Daylen Lile, but I could see other people thinking they’re the only ones who like Daylen Lile, then seeing this post and knowing I also like him, so they have to be more aggressive. I’m saying, do you see how much I give to you? Like Jeb Bush, please clap. So, what can we expect from Daylen Lile for 2026 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
PSYCHE! I’m going to begin rolling out my 2026 fantasy baseball rankings on the Patreon starting today. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out next month. Anyway II, the Daylen Lile sleeper:
Last year in 195 ABs in the minors, Daylen Lile went 4/12/.328 with a 6.6 BB% and 15.5 K%. (That was mostly in Triple-A; he saw 104 ABs there.) Then in the majors, he went 9/8/.299 in 321 ABs with a 6 BB% and 16 K%. Welp, this guy rocks. xBA is one of the worst stats (so why do I keep mentioning it?), but it has his xBA in the majors at .309. As a 22-year-old in the majors. Are you sure this guy isn’t a five-time All-Star already? Why is no one make a fuss about him as a huge prospect? Do you hear Lile and think he’s a Girl Scout Troop Leader? I have questions, y’all!
First off, he lost a year to Tommy John, so he might’ve fell off radars. It happens. Second off, Dylan Crews was the higher impact outfielder in front of him, so maybe it was a Barbara Hershey in Beaches situation where he was getting cold in Crews’s shadow. Third off, there’s no third off. Fourth off, he kinda Wally Pipp’d Crews. Crews was injured for the better part of 2025, so Lile was promoted on a wing and prayer when he was hitting well in Triple-A, and he never stopped. It wasn’t a full Wally Pipp shituation, because Crews’s injury gave him an opportunity, but Crews has a place to play upon return, and so does Lile. He has such a great place to play, currently, I’m seeing Lile slotted into the three hole. That’s: Runs and RBIs.
The speed is elite. 29.1 ft/sec., which was top 50 in the majors, and on a team that runs like crazy. Davey Martinez is gone, so maybe the team philosophy changes overnight, but I doubt it. They have a young team that’s built around the steal. Lile’s speed is 30-40 steals-rich. Lile’s speed is not lil’. If you’re a Mets fan, briefly look away:
DAYLEN LILE, INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER IN EXTRAS ? pic.twitter.com/QUmqYNemFQ
— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2025
Impressive, but his out-of-the-parker is even more impressive:
WSH – Daylen Lile 2-run HR (9)
? 386 ft | ? 100.3 mph | ? 24°
?? 97.8 mph four-seam fastball (CWS – RHP Sean Burke)
?? Out in 12/30 MLB parksCWS (4) @ WSH (2)
? 4th#Natitude pic.twitter.com/Z7QPIFLvOj— MLB Home Runs? (@MLBHRs_) September 27, 2025
That power is easy. Want to see his power even easier? Me too:
WSH – Daylen Lile 3-run HR (8)
? 397 ft | ? 101.8 mph | ? 30°
?? 96 mph four-seam fastball (CWS – RHP Jordan Leasure)
?? Out in 30/30 MLB parksCWS (8) @ WSH (8)
? 8th#Natitude pic.twitter.com/8vO56i6ORt— MLB Home Runs? (@MLBHRs_) September 27, 2025
Daylen Lile was the September NL Player of the Month with six homers, .391 and a 1.212 OPS. This is a sleeper? This is a top 20 outfielder! We haven’t even talked about his number one attribute: He’s a .300 hitter. I don’t know exactly why this guy didn’t register on prospect lists, but he looks like a star. Sometimes players just slip through. Cal Raleigh was drafted in the third round; Freddie Freeman was in the 2nd round; Lile was in the 2nd round. Maybe it’s because he has a weak arm and not the greatest outfield range. Meh, who cares for fantasy? He has power, speed, average and a great lineup spot. For 2026 fantasy baseball, I’ll give Daylen Lile projections of 83/22/79/.287/25 in 549 ABs with a chance for much more and the most no-brainer sleeper. I love him.
Hey Grey! Yeah, all in on Lile, had him for a few weeks in September and he was excellent. Not to jump to gun on rankings, but you think he’s top 100?