Through the first month of the regular season, one star for the Washington Nationals was named to the All-MLB team by one outlet
While it's early, one star for the Washington Nationals is off to a good enough start to draw recognition for early All Star consideration after one outlet projected just one MLB All Star team through the first month of the 2026 regular season.
Outfielder James Wood was named the starting right fielder on CBS Sports All Star team released on Tuesday, pointing to his strong start to the 2026 season despite the strikeouts once again sticking out like a sore thumb.
Through 114 at bats and 30 games, Wood narrowly leads the MLB in strikeouts with 46 in 2026. Wood was among the several starters to be held hitless in Tuesday's shutout loss against the New York Mets, finishing with two strikeouts across his four at bats, yet that marks an outlier for the franchise star. It came after Wood went just 1-for-9 in the series win on the road against the Chicago White Sox.
Still, Wood was named NL Player of the Week earlier this month, becoming the first player in the franchise to do so in two seasons, after going 12-for-22 (.545) while notching both three doubles and home runs, eight runs, eight RBIs and a pair of steals. The hot week led the Nationals to four wins, including a series sweep on the road, in six games.
"When he isn't whiffing, he's one of the biggest offensive forces in the game," Matt Snyder of CBS Sports wrote. "He leads the NL in walks, which helps propel him to a .404 OBP. He also leads the league in home runs with 10. He's a run-producing machine with 21 RBI and 27 runs scored."
His ten home runs also leaves Wood as one of six players to already reach double digits in the category, a testament to the power from the 23 year old.
His 96.8 average and max 116.3 exit velocity still rank in the top 1% across baseball, along with his near 20% walk rate. His success has remained consistent against the fastball where he's hitting .356 with seven home runs across 279 pitches, a drastic improvement from 2025.
The Nationals will look to take the series win when they take on the Mets in game three with first pitch set again for 1:10 PM. After being held scoreless on Tuesday, the Nationals erupted for 14 runs in Wednesday's win thanks to a seven run fourth inning to blow the game open.