While Friday's game between the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies was postponed due to some inclement weather in Denver, MLB announced that the teams will make up the game on Sunday by playing a doubleheader. As part of playing a doubleheader, both teams are able to bring up a 27th man to their active roster for the games, in order to give the teams an opportunity to take the load off a couple guys.
This ended up being a blessing in disguise for one current Nationals pitching prospect, who will not have the opportunity to potentially make his big league debut on Sunday. 22-year-old righty Andry Lara reportedly received the call to the show on Friday after the Rochester Red Wings game, and is scheduled to join the Nationals in Denver.
In case you are unfamiliar with Lara, here's what you need to know. He was added to the 40-man roster this offseason along with Robert Hassell III in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, and he has just begun to get his feet wet in AAA this season. He broke out across multiple levels in 2024, and the team clearly valued him enough to want to protect him from being picked in the Rule 5 Draft. His best pitch is his 60-grade slider, and he has a 50-grade fastball and 45-grade changeup to accompany his signature slider.
He currently ranks as the #16 overall prospect in the organization, and the 6th-highest pitching prospect. Lara was signed by the Nationals in 2019 as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela, and has steadily progressed through the system since 2021. His big season came in 2024, when he had a combined 11-11 record with a 3.34 ERA and 1.16 WHIP between High-A Wilmington and AA Harrisburg.
Lara began the 2025 season with AAA Rochester, and he has experienced some serious growing pains so far. In 3 starts, he has a 9.26 ERA and 2.23 WHIP, and has more walks issued than strikeouts this season. Although it was a bit surprising that he got the call given those numbers, since he was already on the 40-man roster, it saved the Nationals from having to make a corresponding move. More than likely, Lara will be sent back down to Rochester after the games on Sunday.
The only other option without a corresponding move would have been to promote Shinnosuke Ogasawara from Rochester, who is also on the 40-man roster. He too has had his share of struggles to begin this season, and the team likely wants to continue to let him develop before moving him back and forth between the bullpen and rotation.
In all likelihood, Lara will only pitch if one of the games turns into a blowout, or if one of the games turns into a marathon that refuses to finish. Either way, this is an exciting time for Lara, and hopefully he will not be needed as the club can win the games without him.
Do you want to see Andry Lara pitch on Sunday? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.