Young Nationals Outfielder Becoming a Top Commodity in Fantasy Baseball Drafts
It is never too early to think about the future, and that is a sentiment that rings true with the Washington Nationals as well as in fantasy baseball.
The Nationals have been working through a rebuild that began shortly after winning the 2019 World Series, the first in franchise history, but this time the rebuild looks to be much shorter than those in the past.
The quick turnaround has come on the back of strong player development, with guys like CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. taking strides forward in 2024, and highly-touted prospect Dylan Crews beginning to find his footing in the Majors as the season drew to a close.
The young player who has proven to be the biggest piece of that player development success so far, however, has been another outfielder, James Wood.
Wood had a breakout rookie campaign, albeit in a small sample size of less than half of a season, and it has many looking to the young stud to bolster the outfield of their fantasy baseball team.
Chris Towers of CBS Sports broke down the first fantasy baseball mock drafts of the 2025 campaign, and many had Wood being selected among the first 50 picks, with an ADP of the 12th pick in the fourth round.
"As with every year, there are going to be a handful of projection picks in 2025, and it looks like Wood is going to be the most expensive of them," writes Towers, "he managed to hit .264 with an 18-homer, 28-steal pace despite being very far from a finished product as a 22-year-old rookie, so I can't really say I'm out on Wood – there's a lot about his game, from his plate coverage to his contact locations, that needs fixing, but Wood seems to have a relatively high floor thanks to his broad skill set and elite physical tools. There's a bit of projection going on here, but Wood's upside is that of a first-round player."
Wood batted .264/.354/.427 with nine home runs, 41 RBI, 14 stolen bases, and a 122 OPS+ across 336 plate appearances in 79 games in 2024, and looks to be a big part of the middle of Washington's lineup in 2025 and beyond.
While Wood may be rostered in many dynasty leagues already (if he is not, pick him up ASAP), the high projection for 2025 redraft leagues is anything but crazy, especially if the young star takes another step forward in his development with some valuable Major League experience under his belt.
