A pair of Washington Nationals tabbed among the best at their position through the first month of the 2026 MLB season
The Washington Nationals have been among the bigger surprises through the first month of the 2026 regular season with first year manager Blake Butera keeping his squad near .500 after being projected as a challenger to the Colorado Rockies for the worst team in baseball. That success has come at the hands of a handful of new faces like Foster Griffin and Curtis Mead, yet the two anchors have been a key piece of the 2026 identity as ESPN tabbed CJ Abrams and James Wood among the best players in the MLB.
Abrams was named the player to watch at shortstop through the first month of the season after ESPN pointed to his rapid rise as a prospect to foundational piece of the franchise. "Abrams is not really a shortstop, but the way he's hitting, he could become somebody's second baseman at the trade deadline if the Nationals decide to deal him," ESPN added.
Abrams is coming off the series win against the New York Mets where he went 5-for-11, tallying five RBIs including a home run that proved to be the difference in Thursday's rubber match win, breaking out of a slump after totaling just two hits over his previous nine games ahead of Friday's series.
Yet Abrams was one of two to be honored with right fielder James Wood, who was tabbed as the All Star selection among right fielders in baseball.
"When Wood gets in the zone, he's scary good: After a slow start, he hit .333 with nine home runs in an 18-game stretch. Similar to De La Cruz and Cruz, two other towering hitters with big swings, Wood will whiff a ton, but he has the best overall approach of the three. He hit like this in the first half of last season before fading during the final two months. Let's see him do this for six months and hit 40-something home runs.
Wood has stuck out defensively with a pair of home run robs this season, including against Juan Soto in the bottom of the first inning in Thursday's win, yet of course, the offense has been the calling card once again. Wood became one of the first players in baseball to reach double figure home runs in 2026 after notching three in as many games in the series loss against the Atlanta Braves. Yet Wood finished just 2-for-11 in the series win against the Mets, while he's notched two strikeouts in each of his last four games ahead of Friday.
Wood entered Friday's series narrowly leading the league with 50 strikeouts, striking out on nearly 40% of his at bats.