National League Rookie Roundup: Nationals’ James Wood Immediately Makes Big Impact

The ultra-talented 21-year-old outfielder quickly showed why he’s considered one of baseball’s best prospects during his first week in the majors. Plus, a ranking of the NL’s top rookies.

Wood reached base 14 times in his first seven career games, a Nationals record. / Rafael Suanes/USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the Rookie Roundup, a weekly look-in on baseball’s best and most interesting first-year players. Last week, we celebrated Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford’s midseason resurgence and checked in on the American League Rookie of the Year power rankings. Next up is a breakdown of Nationals star prospect James Wood’s first week in the majors, along with a National League Rookie of the Year race update.

There’s nothing subtle about Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood. Listed at 6’7” and 234 pounds, the 21-year-old’s long hair and longer strides stand out among his peers. And after finally getting called up to The Show, it took the supremely gifted Wood no time to show why his arrival was preceded by so much buzz.

Wood’s ascent to this level has been a breathtaking case of pure talent forcing the issue. He arrived in the Nationals’ system as perhaps the least-heralded member of an enormous prospect haul for outfielder Juan Soto that included shortstop CJ Abrams and pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Robert Hassell III. At the time of the trade, Wood was 19 and viewed largely as a toolsy project, with eye-catching physical traits but also holes in his swing and a physical profile that portended a possible slide down the defensive spectrum at some point from center field to first base.

It took Wood no time to establish himself as one of Washington’s best prospects, and eventually one of the most exciting in all of baseball. He hit 26 homers with an .874 OPS in 2023, earning a quick promotion to Triple A to start this season. There, he cut his strikeout rate to 18.2% alongside a 17.3% walk rate, producing a preposterous .353/.463/.595 slash line in 52 games. Were it not for a hamstring injury suffered in late May, Wood likely would have made his debut weeks ago.

In his first game last Monday, Wood singled in his first plate appearance. By his third game, he had moved up to the No. 3 spot in Washington’s batting order. In his sixth game, he hit his first homer and had five RBIs by the third inning.

JAMES WOOD. FIRST HOME RUN. and it's beautiful. pic.twitter.com/ukxgDqpFpI

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 6, 2024

By Sunday, Wood had reached base 14 times, the most of any Nationals player ever in his first seven career games. He struck out seven times compared to six walks over 31 plate appearances, and even flashed some leather playing out of position in left field. It was a whirlwind display of talent meeting with opportunity to add even more excitement to what’s become a Washington club brimming with potential.

Since winning the franchise’s only World Series title in 2019, the Nationals haven’t sniffed .500 in any of their subsequent five seasons. Following Monday’s 6–0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the team was still 42–49 and on the fringe of a wide-open National League wild-card race. Wood’s promotion is perhaps an indication that general manager Mike Rizzo and the front office are looking to “go for it,” so to speak, as the July 30 trade deadline looms.

Or, perhaps, Wood’s play down on the farm made it impossible for the organization to wait any longer. Combined with Abrams and Gore, Wood has made the Soto deal—an awkward situation as the organization was essentially backed into a corner to trade a generational player—look like a shrewd move that’s poised to pay off for the next half-decade.

And, if Wood can prove that his first week in the big leagues was no fluke, it could pay off much quicker than anybody expected.

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Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has been overshadowed in the NL Rookie of the Year race lately, but he’s still very much in the thick of it. / Denis Poroy/USA TODAY Sports

NL Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

The more compelling of the two ROY races has taken some real twists and turns since our last check-in. Here’s how things shape up at the moment.

1. Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

The newly minted All-Star is still undefeated as a big leaguer. He threw a career-high 107 pitches in his last outing Friday against the Mets, striking out eight over seven frames to pick up his fifth win. Skenes has yet to allow more than three runs in a start this season.

2. Jackson Merrill, CF, San Diego Padres

In another year, Merrill would be the rookie of the moment heading into the All-Star break. The 21-year-old has hit .302/.328/.587 with nine homers since the start of June. He’s currently on pace to become just the 12th player ever with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases at age 21 or younger.

3. Joey Ortiz, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers

Among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances, Ortiz’s 133 wRC+ ranks 17th in the National League, topping 2024 All-Stars like Bryan Reynolds, Alec Bohm and Pete Alonso. Statcast ranks him as the second-best defensive third baseman in the majors behind only Seattle’s Josh Rojas.

4. Shōta Imanaga, SP, Chicago Cubs

A pair of rough outings has Imanaga’s stats looking much less impressive than they did through the season’s first six weeks. He allowed seven earned runs to the Brewers on May 29 and 10 against the Mets on June 21. In his 14 other outings, he’s been charged with 15 earned runs.

5. Gavin Stone, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Stone has been a savior for the Dodgers’ rotation, which has been decimated by injuries (including one to rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto that will likely keep him out until August). The 25-year-old leads all National League rookies in wins (nine) and innings pitched (92). A subpar outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday snapped a six-start streak in which Stone went 5–0 with a 1.62 ERA, a run that included his first career shutout.

Honorable mention: Yamamoto, Jared Jones, Masyn Winn, Michael Busch, Jackson Chourio, Jacob Young, Mitchell Parker