The Nationals selected Lara's contract from Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
The 21-year-old is now shielded from the Rule 5 Draft. Lara spent the 2024 campaign split between High-A Wilmington and Harrisburg, finishing with a 3.34 ERA and 132:44 K:BB over 134.2 frames. He'll likely begin the 2025 season at Triple-A Rochester.
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Nationals' Andry Lara: Moving up to Double-A
Rotowire
The Nationals promoted Lara from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg on Monday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
The 21-year-old righty from Venezuela spent the entire 2023 campaign with Wilmington but earned a quick promotion this season upon returning to the South Atlantic League. Over six starts with Wilmington spanning 30.2 innings, Lara compiled a 2.35 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 39:9 K:BB.
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Nationals' Andry Lara: Breaking out at High-A
Rotowire
Lara has a 2.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 37:8 K:BB in 23.2 innings through five starts for High-A Wilmington.
Lara was a high-pedigree signee out of Venezuela in 2019, but he never logged an ERA under 4.50 prior to this season. The big, 6-foot-4 righty ranks second behind Owen Murphy among all High-A pitchers with 37 strikeouts and his 30.5 K-BB% is the fourth-best mark at the level.
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Nationals' Andry Lara: Fans seven for Fredericksburg
Rotowire
Lara impressed for Single-A Fredericksburg on Sunday against Carolina, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks over four innings while striking out seven.
One of the Nationals' top pitching prospects, Lara is still only 19 after being a J-2 signing in 2019, but this is already his second look at full-season ball after he ended last season with a couple shaky starts for Fredericksburg. His results this time around have been a lot better, however, and if Lara can improve his control, his raw stuff could allow him to consistently dominate hitters in the low minors. For the moment, he's only on the radar in deeper dynasty formats, but Lara has the tools to put together a breakout campaign.
