Emerging Star's Hot Streak Has Turned Nationals Season Around

A recent hot streak from an emerging star has turned things around for the Washington Nationals.

Apr 8, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood (29) hits a two run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are starting to play some excellent baseball, and a lot of credit has to go to their young star for helping them turn it around. 

Despite it being a slow start to the campaign for the Nationals, the team has been playing much better of late. 

To begin the year, Washington was 1-6 with series losses to the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays. However, the team has been much better recently against some challenging teams from the National League West with series wins at home over both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers.

After several seasons of struggles, it was easy to be pessimistic about how they started.

After all, this is a franchise that has just won 71 games in each of the last two years. 

But, this winter, the club made some nice additions to the roster, especially in the lineup. And while things might have started out slow, the team is starting to pick it up. 

This stretch has also been spurred by their emerging star James Wood. 

The talented outfielder was part of the return package that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, and he got his first taste of the Majors in 2024. 

Last year, he slashed .264/.354/.427 with nine home runs, 41 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 79 games played. He got in about a half-season of work, and the results were superb.

This created a lot of expectations for him coming into his first full season in 2025. 

Despite not hitting the ground running, the 22-year-old has been on fire of late. 

In the last seven days, he has slashed .333/.417/.810 with three home runs, nine RBI and one stolen base. 

Arguably, his best game recently came against the Dodgers, with Wood going 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and five RBI. 

What has been really impressive is that most of this damage is coming against left-handed pitching with a slash line of .412/.444/1.059 and three home runs. 

For someone this young who bats from the left-side of the plate, those type of numbers are outstanding at this stage of his development. 

The emergence of Wood this year is going to be one of the top storylines to watch for the Nationals. So far, he is showing the upside and All-Star potential that the franchise believes he has. 

Now, it will be about sustaining this high level of play throughout the year.