After struggling for years, Andry Lara looks like he might finally be living up to his $1.25 million price tag
Signed all the way back in 2019, Andry Lara had a lot of hype as an international prospect. Signed for $1.25 million out of Venezuela, Lara was one of the best pitchers in that international class. In fact, MLB Pipeline had Lara as the 21st best international prospect of the cycle and the second best pitcher.
It has been a bumpy road for the now 22 year old, but he enjoyed a breakout in 2024. Between high-A and double-A, Lara threw 134.2 innings, posting a 3.34 ERA with 132 strikeouts. It was his first professional season with an ERA under 4, and put him back on the prospect map.
In fact, it was enough to convince Mike Rizzo to add Lara to the 40 man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. This addition makes it more likely for us to see Lara in the big leagues this season. However, with a crowded rotation, Lara would probably have to fill a bullpen role.
Lara’s best pitch is a power slider he throws in the mid 80’s. It is more of a gyro slider than a sweeper, with the bottom dropping out as the pitch comes to the plate. He commands the pitch well, making it a real weapon. If he moves to a bullpen role, he would likely lean on the pitch even more.
Lara’s fastball is solid but not spectacular. It is a sinker that sits at around 92-94 MPH. As an international prospect, there was hope more velocity would come, but that hasn’t really happened. Again, it would be intriguing to see if there is more in the tank in shorter spurts. Lara also throws a changeup, but with the pitch in the upper 80’s, it does not have ideal velocity separation from his fastball. He is mainly a sinker/slider guy.
After a big 2024 season and his addition to the 40 man roster, Lara is a name to watch. It will be interesting to get a look at him in Spring Training to see if he has made any additional improvements. Lara will probably start the year in AAA, and will be one of the first guys called upon if injury hits. His addition to the 40 man roster and the fact he has plenty of options makes it easy to call him up.
This time last year it looked like Lara might wash out before even getting to triple-A, but now an MLB debut could very well be on the horizon in 2025. Even if he never becomes a real impact guy, getting a big leaguer out of the IFA market is a success. A lot of recently high touted Nationals International prospects have been struggling, but Lara looks like he has real big league potential.