James Wooden, one of many prized jewels within the Nationals trade with the Padres for Juan Soto in 2022, has been tearing up the minor leagues. In 36 video games this season for the Rochester Pink Wings (the Nats’ Triple-A affiliate) the 6-foot-7 outfielder is slashing .357/.455/.586 with 11 doubles, seven homers and 25 RBI throughout 140 at-bat. Lately, he is tapped into his seemingly limitless energy, as he launched 5 residence runs within the final week alone, incomes him Triple-A Player of the Week.
Because the staff’s newly-minted No. 1 prospect, the time is now to offer Wooden his first style of the massive leagues. At 20-21, the Nationals have been a pleasing shock for the second consecutive 12 months and are effectively on their manner towards exceeding their preseason projected win complete of 65.5.
However make no mistake, this staff has loads of holes, together with a obtrusive energy deficiency that, amongst Nationwide League groups, has the Nats ranked twelfth in residence runs, fifteenth in complete bases, tenth in runs scored and twelfth in slugging share.
Most days, the Nats clean-up hitter is Joey Meneses, whose .585 OPS would not rank inside the top-150 performers in baseball. And whereas the staff needs to be relieved that Eddie Rosario has began to climb out of an early season stoop that left him slashing .088/.137/.162 firstly of Could, he is not precisely a supervisor’s dream within the three-spot.
The Nationals are the kind of staff that few pitchers wish to face – they put the ball in play, they wreak havoc on the bottom paths, they play small ball and so they manufacture runs. To place it merely, they’re pests. What they lack is the kind of hitter who can strike concern into the opposing staff – somebody who can preserve opposing pitchers up the night time earlier than they take the mound.
Which leads us to James Wooden, a man who simply obliterates baseballs. Issue within the Nats’ want for outfield depth with Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker banged up and it is a no-brainer that Wooden ought to get the decision to affix the massive league membership.
For the Nats, the longer term is now.
