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Lara’s fastball is very hittable because of its downhill plane and lack of movement. Instead, he has relied on his slider and, more often to start 2026, his splitter as a way to garner whiffs. The splitter generated plus miss in a limited sample last year, and so far early this season, Lara’s use of the pitch has nearly tripled. It’s becoming his best pitch and should soon be a suitable big league finisher. Lara’s strike-throwing was a big part of his profile until last season, when he walked five batters per nine. His softer build and below-average athleticism are indications that his regression in this area wasn’t simply a blip. He doesn’t have the precise fastball command to keep that pitch out of trouble, and will likely need to rely on his slider when he needs to throw a strike. He has the look of a good org’s no. 5-7 starter, more on the fringe of the rotation than a definite part of it.
Nusbaum notes the new coaches worked on having Lara throw his splitter more. He is also throwing his fastball and slider harder than last year. K rate has doubled and walk rate has been cut in half.
Current level (age): Triple-A Rochester (23)The Athletic’s rank: UnrankedWhat he’s doing: Also throwing harder.What it means: He could go back on the 40-man roster.Over the winter, the Nationals designated Lara for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for a waiver claim. This week — on back-to-back pitches — he threw a harder fastball (97.3 mph) and slider (90.2 mph) than he threw at any point in 2025.One month in, Lara has doubled last year’s strikeout rate and halved his walk rate. The new brass liked his splitter, and told him to start throwing it more. His slider is tough to time up when it hits 90. He’s starting to see these changes, and believe in them. There are real reasons that he could return to Washington this year.
Lara signed in July of 2019 and due to the pandemic didn’t pitch until 2021, when he responded positively to a fairly aggressive assignment that saw him finish the year in full-season ball. It made Lara famous, but even though he was incredibly young, his game has always been more about polished strike-throwing than big stuff and projection, and that remains true. He was added to the Nationals’ 40-man roster after the 2024 season, debuted in 2025 as a reliever, and is back at Triple-A Rochester (and in the Red Wings’ rotation) to start 2026.Lara’s fastball is very hittable because of its downhill plane and lack of movement. Instead, he has relied on his slider and, more often to start 2026, his splitter as a way to garner whiffs. The splitter generated plus miss in a limited sample last year, and so far early this season, Lara’s use of the pitch has nearly tripled. It’s becoming his best pitch and should soon be a suitable big league finisher. Lara’s strike-throwing was a big part of his profile until last season, when he walked five batters per nine. His softer build and below-average athleticism are indications that his regression in this area wasn’t simply a blip. He doesn’t have the precise fastball command to keep that pitch out of trouble, and will likely need to rely on his slider when he needs to throw a strike. He has the look of a good org’s no. 5-7 starter, more on the fringe of the rotation than a definite part of it.
