Busts: NL East
2026 fantasy baseball BUST picks from the five teams in the NL East
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Nationals
Daylen Lile
My hesitation on Lile is about his reliance on batting average for his fantasy production. He hit .305 in 350 PAs last year, and that’s awesome and super helpful for fantasy leagues. That’s way above the league average. He also added nine bombs and eight steals. So his per-game production was pretty elite.
However, I don’t think he’s a difference-maker in steals. The projection systems are all around 15 steals. I also don’t think he’s a plus in power. The projection systems are all around 12 homers.
You’ll take 15 homers, 20 steals, and a .300 batting average. That’s pretty close to a Trea Turner-type player at this point. But we just haven’t seen it from Lile for long enough for me to buy it. He had a 46% Sweet Spot% last year. That’s great for batting average (.300 xBA), but it’s really hard to repeat those heights in launch angle stuff. He’ll regress there. And the league’s pitchers have some numbers on him now. Don’t be surprised if it comes down to a .270 batting average while being under 30 HR+SB. For his price, that’s a bust.
Marlins
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