Nationals Emerging Star Predicted to be Starter in All-Star Game

The Washington Nationals will have at least one player in this year's All-Star Game, but this rising star is predicted to start.

Mar 29, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood (29) hits a double during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

While it hasn’t been an ideal start to the year for the Washington Nationals, there have been some early positives to begin the campaign. 

Coming into 2025, there are somewhat higher expectations for the Nationals than in years past. 

After winning 71 games for the past two seasons, Washington has a much better team on paper going into this season. 

While the front office might not have made a major splash, they added solid veterans, especially in the lineup. 

The offense has been a struggle for the Nationals during the rebuild, but the franchise has prioritized developing and drafting some impressive young position players. Now, the batting order looks to be one of the best young lineups in the game. 

Last year, the team saw the emergence of one of their top prospects, who got to play about half the season. Now, the emerging star of Washington could be set for significant things. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about one bold prediction for each team in the MLB. For the Nationals, he predicted that outfielder James Wood would not only make the All-Star, but start in it. 

“There might be no more obvious breakout candidate heading into 2025 than Wood, who posted a 122 OPS+ with 26 extra-base hits in 79 games as a rookie while recording elite batted-ball metrics across the board," he wrote.

Wood is going to be one of the most exciting young players to watch not only on Washington, but in the entire league. 

In 79 games last year, he slashed .264/.354/.427 with nine home runs, 41 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Those are some impressive numbers for the 22-year-old, and the sky is the limit for him. 

While making the All-Star team would be a great accomplishment, being named a starter would be a significant boost for not only Wood, but the direction of the franchise. 

The Nationals have been rebuilding for several years now, while waiting for their young talent to develop. 

If Wood is able to emerge as that type of player, the franchise will likely look to start spending again to capitalize on what would be a new window of opportunity. 

Understandly, the team didn’t make many long-term commitments to free agents this past winter. Not rushing their young core and seeing what these players truly can develop into before spending friviosuly made a lot of sense. 

For Wood, if he were to be named a starter for the NL All-Star team, it would put him in the same conversation as players like Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. 

That is some elite company to be mentioned with, but it shows the type of talent that the 22-year-old is.