The Nationals will look to Rule 5 pick Evan Leifert as a member of the bullpen. He has the makings to be a quality reliever, but lacked consistency in the minor leagues. However, he had a great year in 2024, and the Nats hope he can build on his success at Double-A at the major league level.
Simply put, Evan Liifert was too good a player for Double-A, and his numbers showed it. he stand up In 41.1 innings, he accumulated a 1.96 ERA, 65 strikeouts, and held batters to a .155 batting average. The only reason he was there in the first place was because the Rays organization had an overabundance of weapons.
After completely losing his strike zone in 2023, 2024 was a big bounce-back for Reifert. He had a Trevor Rosenthal-like 15 walks in 7.2 innings. However, he regained control in 2024, issuing 16 walks in 41.1 innings. He’ll never have elite control, but all he has to do is throw enough strikes to let his talent shine.
His weapon was a grade 70 slider, against which batters recorded a batting average of .117. This is his primary pitch, and he threw it 52% of the time last season. Last year in Double-A, this slider had a ridiculous 70% whiff rate. This pitch has the potential to be one of the best sliders in baseball. It’s the type of pitch that can be spammed over and over again while deceiving batters. Absolutely no vision test model or pitch model. worship his slider.
His fastball is solid, but close to average. Like most relievers at this point, he has velocity in the mid-90s, but nothing special. He showed promise as a sinker in 2024.
The key to Leifert’s success centers around his slider and getting into favorable counts to use that elite slider. It’s a real money pitch and a meal ticket to success in the big leagues.
Unless Reifert’s command collapses again, he should be a heavy slider middle reliever for years to come. Mike Rizzo did a good job of acquiring a solid relief pitcher for free in the Rule 5 draft. He should be ready for a medium-leverage job this season. If he’s the guy he was last year, Liifert won’t be the type of Rule 5 pick you have to hide on the roster like Thaddeus Ward or Nassim Nunez. He has the ability to be a contributor even if he’s not a closer. The 25-year-old was a shrewd player who could be a great big league arm if his command was even close to average.
