When he was drafted in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB draft, not much was expected from Brad Lord. He was meant to be Minor League depth who could eat innings in the upper minors. Brad Lord was just a body. Despite his $125,000 signing bonus, he still works at Home Depot in the offseason.
In 2023, he provided the minor league innings expected of him, but did not stand out. He posted a 4.04 ERA in 104.2 innings between low-a and high-a. However, in 2024 something special happened. Brad Lord became one of the best pitchers in the Minor Leagues. He went 10-4 with a 2.43 ERA across 129.2 innings while striking out 135.
Lord did this without overwhelming stuff. He used his pitchability to get hitters out. His sinker and 4-seam fastball played very well off of each other. The sinker low in the zone was used to get ground balls, while he elevated his 4-seamer to get whiffs. Despite low-90’s velocity, he got a lot of whiffs on that heater due to deception. While neither his changeup nor his slider are plus pitches, he mixes them in effectively.
This spring Lord has been a standout. With statcast available yesterday, he got to see Lord’s increased velocity. Last year, he sat around 91-94 MPH on his fastball. So it was shocking to see his heater in the 95-97 MPH range yesterday.
If this were to continue, it would be a total game changer for Lord. In 2025, stuff is king, and while Lord had a solid arsenal, nothing stood out. However, a mid 90’s sinker/4-seam combination would be a reliable way to get big leaguers out. It could make him the next young Nationals arm to break out after we saw guys like DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker emerge last year.
The increased velo would make his fastball an above average pitch, something he did not really have. It also makes him a viable option in the bullpen. Brad Lord was a good story, but now with this jump in stuff, he can be a productive big league arm.
We are seeing a lot of wins in the Nationals pitching development lately. Between Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz and now Lord, the Nats are helping guys reach their ceiling. We are also seeing that with new signing Michael Soroka. He has looked absolutely electric this spring.
If the Nationals can keep up this pitching development and improve some on the hitting side, which has not been as fruitful from a developmental standpoint, we could be cooking with gas. Brad Lord went from a guy who was an 18th round afterthought working at Home Depot to a pitcher that will likely see some time at the MLB level this season.