By Bryce Kamin
Indeed, 2024 was the year James Wood showed us his potential, 2025 was the year he broke out, and 2026 will be remembered as the year he proved he has an MVP-level ceiling.
The 6-foot-6 second-round pick from the 2021 draft continues to rake as he returns to the All-Star Game for the second time in his young career.
As MLBbro.com’s Howard Woodard put it:
“For several years now, Aaron Judge has cemented himself as the best hitter in baseball. But in the near future, Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood has a strong claim to take the throne in due time.” Wood sure does seem to be living up to a high mark.
James Wood Is Mashing The Metrics
Wood looks even better than ever before. Let’s take a look at what’s leading to his success this season. The advanced metrics tell us that Wood is in the 100th percentile for xSlugging, Avg Exit Velo, Barrel %, and Hard-Hit%. Additionally, he is in the 98th percentile in LA Sweet Spot %, 99th percentile in BB%, and 99th percentile in xwOBA.
https://youtu.be/FbNRBNcMn-8?is=GgYxGDFYQtzCuJAl
This has translated very well to his standard numbers as he’s hit 23 homers, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 93 hits, and 56 RBIs. Wood is on pace to have a career high in WAR, plate appearances, home runs, doubles, hits, RBIs, runs, stolen bases, walks, OBP, Slugging%, OPS, OPS+, and total bases. His OPS+ has gone up every year of his career. It currently sits at 156, 25 points higher than last year.
Power & Speed: Wood Is An All-Star
He also leads the NL with 91 games played, 325 plate appearances, 78 runs, 70 walks, and 186 total bases. Although he still strikes out a lot, he more than makes up for it.
And, he has made some adjustments in that part of his game. His chase rate has gone down, and his walk rate has gone up. Wood’s defense has improved a bit too. Last year his arm value was barely above average, this year it sits at 1 which is good for 75th percentile. He’s even improved on the base paths. Last season Wood collected 15 stolen bases, this year he has 13 already.
This has earned Wood an All-Star appearance at Citizens Bank Park, the second of his 3-year career. He hasn’t slowed down at all, Wood has been hot for essentially the entire season. If he keeps this up, he will get MVP votes.
Wood continues to be the center piece of a young Nationals squad sitting in 4th place in the NL East with a 46-45 record as they’re hopeful to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. In his most recent game on July 5th, Wood drew walks and scored 1 run vs the Pirates. The Nationals continue their home-stand this week as they start a new series with the Astros.
