Washington Nationals news & notes: James Wood breaks through

Notes and quotes from James Wood’s MLB debut and first taste of big league action…

“At the end of the day it’s still baseball, so just trying to look at it that way,” James Wood, then 21, now 22, told reporters in advance of his MLB debut on July 1, 2024.

The Nationals’ Rockville, Maryland-born, hard-hitting outfielder, acquired from San Diego in the Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) trade back in 2022, was the third prospect from the deal with the Padres to debut in the majors for Washington, following shortstop CJ Abrams in ‘22 and starter MacKenzie Gore last season, with Jarlin Susana (No. 4 on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top prospects in the Nationals’ organization), and Robert Hassell III (No. 13), the other prospects in the trade, both working their way up through the system.

Wood, asked how he would manage the move from Triple-A to the majors before he made his debut, said it was all new for him so he would just see how things went.

“I’m not really sure. Obviously it’s a jump, and there’s no way to find out than play in it, so…”

His manager, Davey Martinez, advised the young outfielder to stick with what got him the opportunity in the big leagues.

“[I talked to him] today a little bit about his routine,” Martinez said, “… and stick with his routine, and really just be where your feet are and have fun with it. He’s going to have a good career, so he’s just got to learn how to adjust a little a bit up here, and just go out there and have fun with the other boys.

“He understands that we’ve been waiting a while to have him, so we’re glad he’s here and his teammates are psyched, so just go out there and play the game.”

The seventh-year skipper said he saw all the way back in Spring Training that this was Wood’s time.

“I thought he’d be up here this year, I didn’t know when,” Martinez explained, “… but he was progressing really well. He really was.

“I saw him in Spring Training, he faced some big league pitchers, even though it was Spring Training, he handled himself well, the biggest thing for me offensively is to accept his walks.

“He’s got to accept his walks, and if he does that he’s going to do fine.”

In spite of the relative hype around his rise, Martinez said he was sure Wood would handle it all well.

“He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine,” Martinez told reporters.

“You think about it, he’s had the spotlight for a while now. You look at ESPN, you look at all the polls, he’s in the Top 10 in the prospects, so he understands what comes with him playing here. My job is to kind of get him through it and help him understand what we’re trying to do, what he’s supposed to do, and go from there.”

From that day through the end of the ‘24 campaign, Wood, “… ranked among Major League rookies in stolen bases (T1st, 14), walks (2nd, 39), hits (3rd, 78) and on-base percentage (3rd, .354),” as the Nationals noted in their Season in Review.

“His 78 hits, 39 walks and .264/.354/.427 slash line paced the Nationals from July 1 through the end of the season,” and Wood did what his manager hoped at the plate too, hitting the ball hard, hard, taking his walks, and getting on base:

“[Wood’s] 39 walks were tied for seventh in the National League over this span.”

• Wood ranked third in the NL with a .383 on-base percentage (62 H, 32 BB, HBP) from July 27 through the end of the season…
• He reached base safely in a career-high 14 straight games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 13 during that stretch.

“[Wood] reached safely in 30 of his final 36 games of the season. … [and he] reached base two or more times in 36 games, the most by any rookie in MLB after 7/1,” the Nats noted.

Wood was worth 1.2 fWAR in 79 games and 336 plate appearances on the year as a rookie.

And as noted above, Wood hit the ball hard, hard, in the majors:

“After he was called up on July 1, [ranked] 4th in NL with 54 batted balls (30-for-54, 3 2B, 6 HR) with an exit velo over 105 MPH, per Baseball Savant.”

“When he does hit the ball the way he does, it’s almost like a ‘Wow!’ for me,” Martinez said late in the year, “… because I know what he’s really trying to do up there. He’s not trying to just go hit home runs. He’s trying to stay in the middle of the field, and he’s really trying to focus on just hitting the ball hard, and driving the ball, and when he does that he really does hit the ball hard. I have a lot of appreciation for him because people don’t realize it’s always an adjustment.

“This league, you got to adjust. They’re going to adjust to you, and he’s constantly adjusting and I can see that he’s done it.”

“I think he’s got potential to be a really good impactful player for us, I’ll just leave it at that,” GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo said in September.

“I think he’s going to be a really good middle of the lineup guy for us and he’s gonna be a guy that’s impacts the game in a positive manner for us on all sides of the ball – base running, offense, defense, and inside the clubhouse.

“I think that we’ve got a really good, special player in our midst and I think that it’s going to be enjoyable to watch him play his career here.”