After a spin at Sante Fe College, Lord was a two-year starter at South Florida with fairly pedestrian numbers. The Nationals selected him in the 18th round of the 2022 Draft and signed him for $125,000 (the max allowed without dipping into the bonus pool at the time). Lord enjoyed a solid first full season with 104 2/3 innings at Single-A and High-A in 2023 and returned to Wilmington to open this season before being promoted when a spot in Double-A Harrisburg’s rotation opened. He’s run with the opportunity since as one of Washington’s breakout prospects of 2024, first posting a 1.40 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings with the Senators before receiving a promotion to Triple-A in June.
Lord works with a four-seamer and a sinker in the 91-94 mph range, and the latter stands out most for the way it runs armside in on righties and away from lefties with an average of 17 inches of horizontal. He’s thrown the sinker around 40 percent of the time, but it’s the slightly straighter four-seam that has posted a higher whiff rate because hitters are geared up for more movement. Lord’s 82-85 mph changeup has similar movement but is pretty hittable inside the zone, and his mid-80s slider is his fourth pitch with more cut than sweep.
The former Bull has racked up strikeouts because he gets ahead in counts quickly and then mixes up his offerings to keep hitters uncomfortable despite lacking stellar stuff. He could be a depth option for Washington’s rotation in his age-25 season or more if he follows in the footsteps of Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker, who were similarly low-ranked prospects who took the leap in The Show.
