Fastball

Washington Nationals Prospect Joins Team History with Huge Performance on Saturday

James Wood of the Nationals hit his first career home run on Saturday, but he did more than that, also entering the history books.

Brady Farkas

Washington Nationals center fielder James Wood (29) watches the ball after making contact against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park on July 5.
Washington Nationals center fielder James Wood (29) watches the ball after making contact against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park on July 5. / Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
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The Washington Nationals routed the St. Louis Cardinals 14-6 on Saturday afternoon thanks, in part, to a history-making performance from top prospect James Wood.

Wood, who just made his major league debut this week, went 2-for-5 with five RBI. He hit his first career home run and his first career double.

Per @JayHayKid of the "Baseball is Dead" podcast on social media:

James Wood is the 3rd-youngest player in Nationals franchise history with a 5-RBI game, behind only Juan Soto and Victor Robles (both 2018).

While Robles ended up getting let go by Washington, Soto is one of the best hitters in all of baseball, so that's elite company for Wood to be mentioned with.

He hit .353 at Triple-A Rochester before getting called to the big leagues. He is the Nationals top overall prospect, even ahead of No. 2 draft pick (2023) Dylan Crews. Wood is also the No. 2 overall top prospect in the sport according to the newest rankings from MLB.com.

Here's a portion of his prospect profile:

... The good news is he doesn’t chase too often, especially for someone his age at such an advanced level, and the Nationals are hopeful some focus on his load can ease the contact concerns. Wood should battle Dylan Crews for the future of center field in D.C. with either still having enough offensive ceiling to be valuable in the corners.

The Nationals and Cardinals will play again on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:35 p.m. ET. Kyle Gibson (STL) pitches against DJ Herz (WAS).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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