Despite a slump through spring training, a pair of Washington Nationals were named breakout hitter candidates in the 2026 MLB season
With the Washington Nationals inching closer toward the start of the 2026 season, all eyes will soon shift to the development of its young core with CJ Abrams and James Wood leading the way. While the pitching is a question mark, so is hitting after Washington ranked 21st across the league in team batting average (.242), 23rd in slugging (.389), 24th in OPS (.389) and home runs (161) along with 25th in on base percentage (.304).
While taking a look around the league at the next wave of breakout hitters, the Washington Nationals proved to be the only team to have two players recognized with both Dylan Crews and James Wood drawing recognition.
"I just can’t quit Dylan Crews. And since the Nationals outfielder is only entering his age-24 season I think it would be short-sighted to do so," Carlos Collazo said. "He’s shown flashes of the player we expected him to be after lighting up college baseball for three years at LSU but never over a sustained period of time. A full season with good health could finally mean a breakout season."
Those aspirations have yet to come to fruition so far in spring training with just two hits and three runs across 16 at bats in seven games, adding an RBI in the Nationals' 4-4 tie agains the Houston Astros back on Feb. 27. But it comes after Crews finished fifth on the team with ten home runs in just 85 games in 2025 and hit just .208 in his second season in the MLB.
As for Wood, he's coming off a 2025 campaign that ended in history after finishing just shy of resetting the MLB single season strikeout record with 221, shattering his mark of 97 strikeouts in nearly half the at bats in 2024. But similar to the point that Brady House emphasized last month, the 6-foot-7 outfielder has made patience at the plate a priority with Matt Borgschulte now in the fold as the Nationals' new hitting coach in 2026.
"Nationals outfielder James Wood has already been quite good, but he’s yet to slug .500 in a season, and his 32% strikeout rate in 2025 raised concerns," Carlos Collazo added. "This should be the year that his heady approach at the plate, combined with a reworked coaching staff and front office, help to fully unlock his massive potential."
Of course, Wood is also coming off his first All Star appearance, one of two Nationals at the time to suit up in the midsummer classic, after a breakout first half of the season. It was enough to also draw the nod for his first Home Run Derby invitation. Wood slashed .288/.391/.549 with a .940 OPS through the first half while belting 23 home runs, including on the day he was invited to the Home Run Derby. He also became the sixth player to be intentionally walked four times in one game, in addition to the first since Barry Bonds in 2004.
Despite Wood ending the second half of the season striking out in 39% of his at bats, Woods has struggled through the first three weeks of spring training with just a .091 batting average across 22 at bats and nine games. His best showing came back on March 7 when his two RBIs fueled a 3-0 win over the New York Yankees, but he's also hitless across five at bats and two games since then. Whether he's able to make the breakout pick a reality could serve as one of the key storylines for the Nationals in 2026, but until then, he'll look to capitalize on the chance to become the impact piece he's long been viewed to be.