Nationals Star James Wood Joins Elite Group of Sluggers With Walk-Off Blast
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The Washington Nationals haven't had very many bright spots in 2025 thus far, with the team finding themselves near the bottom of the National League table once again.
Despite their many shortcomings, though, the emergence of several young players has provided a bit of optimism for what they could become in the very near future with a little more patience.
Chief among this promising group of youngsters has been phenom James Wood, who is quickly evolving into the star slugger the Nationals have been looking for over the past several years.
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As of this writing, Wood owns a .284/.380/.564 slash line and has racked up 56 RBI and 20 home runs, putting himself in the running to make next month's NL All-Star squad.
Wood has also quietly become elite in clutch situations, a fact that was illustrated yet again on Thursday night against the Colorado Rockies when Wood slugged a monster walk-off blast to secure a much-needed win for the Nationals.
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In addition to snapping the 11-game skid for Washington, Wood also put himself into some pretty elite company, becoming just the fourth player in organization history to reach the 20-homer mark in a season before the age of 23.
The other three names on this list represent three of the best players to every don a Nationals jersey in Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman.
With his 20th home run today, James Wood joined Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman as the only four Nationals to hit 20 home runs in a season before turning 23 years old.
— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) June 19, 2025
It's hard not to see shades of these former electric Washington sluggers in Wood's game, so it's very fitting that he now finds himself amongst them in this exclusive club.
Similar to each of these Nationals' greats, Wood has also quickly become the lynch pin for the team's success at the plate, further adding to the growing list of similarities.
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This season may have shown that Washington still has a lot more work to do before they can once again compete in October, but Wood has at least shown everyone that there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.
Now, it will be up to Washington's front office to continue building up the roster around him and the rest of their young core. If they can manage to find the right pieces, then postseason success will follow as a natural byproduct.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Georgia native and avid Atlanta sports fan who has lived in the Charlotte area for the past eight years. Got started writing about sports for my middle school paper and haven’t stopped since. Graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and proud 49er. Passionate sports writer who has covered everything from high school soccer to the NFL for several prominent outlets including the Charlotte Observer, ESPN, and the Carolina Panthers. Also covered the South Carolina Gamecocks football program as the lead beat writer for Last Word on College Football, and was a contributing writer for several other notable online publications such as Yardbarker. Lives and breathes sports and will watch whatever is on or in season. Favorite teams include the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Georgia Bulldogs. Massive Jordan Speith and Rory McIlroy fan on the PGA Tour