Which Past Washington Nationals Top Prospect Will Be True Breakout Player This Year?

The NL East is a stacked division. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are always good, but the New York Mets signed Juan Soto, which gives them a massive boost.

The Washington Nationals have some very good young talent on their team, specifically James Wood and Dylan Crews. However, Wood seems to be the better breakout candidate for the Nationals over Crews.

After being drafted in second round of the 2021 draft, Wood made his MLB debut in July of the 2024 season. His rookie year was nothing short of great. He finished with a .264/.354/.781 slash line to go along with nine home runs, 41 RBI and a 1.1 WAR in just 79 games played. He also stole 14 bases in his rookie campaign.

Standing at 6-foot-7, Wood has an impressive combination of power and speed.

In his short time in the bigs last season, he had an average exit velocity of 92.8 mph, a hard-hit percentage of 52.0% and he rarely chased at the plate. Wood was also in the 85th percentile in the MLB in sprint speed. His ability to hit the ball hard and run as fast as he does is very rare.

He could be a little bit better in the zone as his whiff percentage and strikeout percentage are high, but his potential is off the charts.

With all that talent, Wood was able to land on the MLB top 100 list at No. 98.

Former All-Star and current MLB Network analyst Sean Casey described him as an elite player with his power to the opposite field.

In fact, Casey went as far as comparing him to a former Nationals superstar in Juan Soto.

"This kid is going to be special. There's so much to like about him." 🤩@TheMayorsOffice details @Nationals up-and-comer James Wood, who lands at No. 98 on the #Top100RightNow! pic.twitter.com/804MDzGs9X
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 31, 2025

Wood is not alone on the team as a player to watch.

The Nationals had four prospects named to the top 100 list. No. 6 on the top prospect list is Crews.

He was called up in late August of 2024, and spent the rest of the season on the big league roster. That time in the MLB came with some struggles, though. He had a slash line of .218/.353/.641 to go along with just three home runs. A bright spot for Crews was his speed. He stole 12 bases, and his sprint speed was better than Wood.

Before being called up, Crews had 107 hits in 100 minor league games in 2024. He stole 25 bases and his defense was superb. His power is not overwhelming, but he has an electric bat and a great eye for the zone. The LSU product struggled to show that for the Nationals last year, but he still has rookie status for 2025.

As for 2025, FanGraphs has Wood projected to bat .261 with 21 home runs, 77 RBI and 18 stolen bases. That same projection has him lowering his strikeout rate as well.

He is a player who could easily join the 20/20 club in the upcoming campaign, and lowering his strikeout rate would go a long way towards improving for him.

Crews is the faster player, and his glove is a little bit better, but Wood seems to be the one with more potential heading into the season.