Washington, DC — On Monday night, James Wood, the Washington Nationals’ top prospect and No. 3 player in the MLB Pipeline, entered a major league game for the first time when his team faced the New York Mets.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound hitter worked his way up from Single-A to the major leagues when he joined the college as part of the Juan Soto blockbuster trade between the Nationals and the San Diego Padres in 2022.
Wood wasted no time making his presence known in front of a normally quiet crowd of 26,719 at Nationals Park, but the anticipation of his debut got the crowd pretty loud. The Olney, Maryland, native, who grew up just 45 minutes from where he now plays his home games, smacked an opposite-field single in his first at-bat.
He finished the night 1-4 and hit some great base runs that gave the Nationals the win in the bottom of the ninth inning, which they eventually won 9-7 – a successful start to his major league career.
Before the game, an excited Wood told reporters: “It’s surreal. Just being able to play for the team that I grew up with and follow – it’s a blessing.”
Wood’s arrival is comparable to that of former Nationals superstars Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg: It revitalized a fan base that had been waiting for something good since the team won its only World Series title in 2019, about four months before COVID-19 ravaged the world.
The energy in and around Nats Park could be felt even before the opening pitch, as scores of spectators sat in their seats in anticipation of team batting practice, just to catch a glimpse of Wood at the plate.
About 50 members of the bat’s family were sitting there ready to watch Wood at work. As always, the poised 21-year-old took it all in his stride and seemed unfazed by the moment.
“It’s cool to be back home, have my family here and soak it all in,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s still baseball, so I try to look at it that way.”
For a team that desperately needs a boost, Woods’ arrival is definitely a good solution.
In order not to put too much pressure on his talented new signing, excited Nationals manager Davey Martinez did his best to dampen expectations for Wood.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I don’t want him to feel like he’s the face of anything. I just want him to play baseball.” No matter how much Martinez tries to downplay the expectations attached to Wood, they don’t let up. The Nationals fan base is thirsty for a face for the franchise with Harper, Soto and Scherzer gone, and Wood fits the bill. Baseball is a rocky road, especially when expectations are high, but Woods seems up to the task.
