Daylen Lile is a Gold Glove finalist, and the Nationals haven't had a moment like this in a long time
Washington's 23-year-old left fielder turned one of the worst defensive seasons in baseball in 2025 into a Gold Glove nomination in 2026, and it happened on purpose.
In brief
Daylen Lile is a Gold Glove finalist, and the Nationals haven't had a moment like this in a long time
A year ago, Daylen Lile was one of the worst outfielders in the National League by almost any measurement you care to use. Wednesday afternoon, MLB announced he is one of three finalists for the NL Gold Glove in left field. The award goes to the winners on November 1, live on ESPN. Between now and then, Lile will have to hold off Ian Happ of the Cubs, four straight Gold Gloves, and Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio, who led the league in fielding run value and outs above average. That is a steep hill. None of that takes anything away from what happened in Washington this year.
Washington Nationals left fielder Daylen Lile was named a Gold Glove finalist on Wednesday after becoming one of the most-improved defenders in baseball last season. He is 23 years old. Lile drew 124 starts in left field for the Nationals, a year after splitting time between DH, right field and left field, and he handled the role with above-average range and a valuable throwing arm.
The numbers underneath that nomination are jarring if you watched him play a year ago. Lile finished the 2026 campaign with two outs above average and eight defensive runs saved; in 2025, he was a below-average outfielder with negative-eight outs above average and negative-14 defensive runs saved. The improvement in defensive runs saved ranked fifth among all defenders in MLB. That kind of swing in one offseason is not something you see often.
What makes the story worth telling is that it did not happen by accident. Lile worked with first base coach Corey Ray to tweak his pre-pitch setup in the field, starting with his chest square to the center fielder as the pitcher begins his delivery, a change that helps the 23-year-old get to more balls in the gap. In June, Lile told The Banner: "I think it was more confidence than anything, being able to tell myself that I can do it out there, and now, seeing it really pay off, it's awesome."
The Nationals believed Lile could be a solid defender based on his athleticism, and by switching him to left field instead of right, where he played the majority of the time in 2025, the organization feels it unlocked something in him defensively. The numbers back that up completely. In 2025 he posted negative-14 defensive runs saved, negative-eight outs above average and negative-10 fielding run value. This season: plus-eight DRS, plus-one OAA and plus-two FRV.
The rarity of this moment for Washington
No Nationals outfielder has ever received a Gold Glove. Only two players, Ryan Zimmerman at third base in 2009 and Adam LaRoche at first base in 2012, have received the honor since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005. That is 21 years. The Zimmerman and LaRoche awards came during a stretch when this franchise was genuinely competitive. The Nationals are not there yet, but Lile's nomination fits a 2026 season that District on Deck's Bennett Lehmann described as one where the team "majorly exceeded expectations."
Lile's competition is stiff. Happ has recorded four consecutive Gold Gloves, and Chourio led the NL in fielding run value and outs above average. By advanced metrics, Lile has the weakest defensive numbers of the three finalists. That is an honest read. Winning would be a surprise. Getting here was not supposed to happen either, and it did.
For context, the Nationals were not even the main story in D.C. this week. The Commanders flew to Santa Clara for a Monday Night Football game against the undefeated 49ers with Dan Quinn's job quietly on the line, and the Capitals have been sorting through a back-to-back stretch that included a loss in Raleigh and a 5-4 win over Montreal at Capital One Arena. The Lile news landed quietly Wednesday afternoon, a footnote to most national desks. Around here it matters, because on the same theme of exceeding expectations, the Nationals have a player up for an award that was likely thought of as completely unexpected coming into this season. After an impressive rookie year at the plate in 2025, Lile had one specific goal in mind heading into the offseason: improve defensively, because he was one of the worst defensive outfielders in all of baseball during his debut season.
He did it. Gold Glove winners are announced November 1 on ESPN. The other NL left field finalists are Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers and Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs. Lile goes into that vote as the underdog, carrying a plus-eight in defensive runs saved and a story about a 23-year-old who decided the worst part of his game was going to become something else.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
