Follow the Prospects: James Wood, OF

[HondoKillebrew]

He started the year at low A and has moved up two levels. So not surprising to see him struggle at Double A.  Seem to be improving which is good.  Start at Harrisburg again next year and see what happens. 

More concerned about Hassell as he has spent much more time at Double A and above. Some folks thought he was close to MLB last year before the injury.

Agree. I haven’t followed Hassell that closely but his situation is concerning.

[Natsinpwc]

3 Ks yesterday. Shut it down and get some rest. See you in the spring.

[IanRubbish]

There's a difference between still developing and a bust, he looks a lot more like the former.  Moreover, he's only 21 next year and a Boras client, no need to rush him up to MLB.  Boras clients don't sign Acuna type deals to buy out their first couple FA years, so nothing wrong with letting him develop more in AA and AAA. 

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/hbgsenators/status/1702481519795691692?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

Fun night for Harrisburg thus far tonight with the A team working 💯

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/talknats/status/1702479490146861358?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

Good thing they didn’t shut him down 😂

But seriously, we need to have some patience with him in particular. He’s never been some super polished kid that was expected to fly through a system. What he is though is a collection of phenomenal physical tools with the potential to be a franchise altering player should everything click.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Pinkney, Brown, and Vaquero saying "hey, don't you forget about me" when talking about the top 5 position prospects

[imref]

Wood had a 42% strikeout rate in August, that's down to 36% in September.

September so far (42 ABs):
.333   / .417 / .524, 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 3 stolen bases.

Month-by-month at Harrisburg:
June: .267 / .356 / .535   
July: .197 / .305 / .423
August: .233 / .313 / .515

He turns 21 on Sunday

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Wood had a 42% strikeout rate in August, that's down to 36% in September.

September so far (42 ABs):
.333   / .417 / .524, 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 3 stolen bases.

Month-by-month at Harrisburg:
June: .267 / .356 / .535   
July: .197 / .305 / .423
August: .233 / .313 / .515

He turns 21 on Sunday

He kind of started to turn things around on 8/8. From 8/8 - 8/31, he was .253 / .330 / .532. K% was still high (34%), but he had 6 HRs and 4 doubles in that SLG, driving a 131 wRC+. To me, it looks like he had a nice start at AA, then he started facing pitchers that could attack his weaknesses in July, then made some adjustments a flourished some starting the second week of August.

From 8/8 to date, he's .281 / .360 / .529, with a 141 wRC+. 

BTW, if you use a K rate based on PAs and not ABs, his K% in September is 31.3%. That's still not good, but it is an improvement from 7/1-8/7, when it was 37.6%.

[imref]

there might be a reason why he's a top 5 prospect after all.

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/mlbpipeline/status/1703111482777489639?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

70 grade power if you ask me

[imref]

.874 OPS, 26 home runs. Absolute bust.

[DCsOwn]

.874 OPS, 26 home runs. Absolute bust.

I’m certainly willing to give him a bit more time before writing the epitaph 😂

[welch]

Last night says it: 2-for-5. with 3 Ks. Mow hitting .245 in AA.

[imref]

Last night says it: 2-for-5. with 3 Ks. Mow hitting .245 in AA.

and an oppo-boppo today

[welch]

and an oppo-boppo today

2-for-4 with, of course, 2 Ks. Starts in Rochester next year? Does the average mean he is ready to learn AAA pitching? Or do the strikeouts mean he should spend a month or two in Harrisburg?

[Mattionals]

2-for-4 with, of course, 2 Ks. Starts in Rochester next year? Does the average mean he is ready to learn AAA pitching? Or do the strikeouts mean he should spend a month or two in Harrisburg?

I would start him in Harrisburg. See if he can cut back on the K's before promoting him to AAA.

[HondoKillebrew]

I would start him in Harrisburg. See if he can cut back on the K's before promoting him to AAA.

I agree. He needs to have clearly outgrown AA before being moved up. But would love to see that happen quickly. 

[imref]

Happy 21st (yesterday) James Wood!

[DCsOwn]

Law's latest update on Wood:

• James Wood has been with Harrisburg for about two-thirds of the season and is leading the club with 17 homers, so his huge power is still intact but the 20-year-old has had issues with contact, striking out in a third of his plate appearances there. His issues are twofold: his offspeed recognition isn’t advanced enough for Double A and his strike zone is huge because he’s 6-foot-7. The former is the bigger issue right now, which is good news for Wood and the Nats because it’s a lot easier to improve a hitter’s pitch recognition than it is to make him shorter. On Tuesday, he whiffed on three sliders in four at-bats, two in the zone and the third out of the zone for a strikeout, and then struck out later in the game on a fastball that was below his knees. He was the DH that night, so I didn’t get to see any of his stellar defense in center.

https://theathletic.com/4870978/2023/09/18/scouting-boston-red-sox-washington-nationals/?source=emp_shared_article

[DCsOwn]

Eastern League POW James Wood that is

https://x.com/Nats_PlayerDev/status/1703825835642261535?s=20

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1704332193474998617?s=20

Awesome interview from the preternaturally gifted young OF.