Nationals' James Wood Comes Up Short in Bid for First Silver Slugger Award

The rising Washington Nationals star wasn't able to take hardware home this season.

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Following a strong first full season of major league action, rising Washington Nationals star James Wood was up for the Silver Slugger Award amongst National League outfielders.

Up against five other finalists who put together incredible years, it was a longshot for Wood to take home his first piece of hardware after the struggles he had in the second half. However, based on the raw numbers he finished with, there was an outside shot he could have be one of the three outfield winners.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Wood came up short in his quest to win this coveted honor, as the exclusive broadcast that took place on "The Baseball Insiders: A FanSided MLB Podcast" announced it was Juan Soto of the New York Mets, Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kyle Tucker of the Chicago Cubs who took home the 2025 Silver Slugger Awards.

A Look Back at James Wood's Season

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The breakout star might have struggled in the second half in a major way, but his overall season numbers were still impressive. In his first full MLB campaign, he slashed .256/.350/.475 with 31 home runs, 94 RBIs and a wRC+ of 127.

At 22 years old, the sky seems like the limit for the 2021 second-round pick. And if he can reduce his strikeout rate after leading the MLB in K's this season, then he will only become more dangerous and could be a perennial 40-home run hitter when he reaches his prime.

How James Wood Compared to Other Silver Slugger Finalists

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While the winners were Soto, Carroll and Tucker, the other two finalists who came up short alongside Wood were Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs and Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins. When looking at the numbers, there is a clear reason why Soto, Carroll and Tucker took home the awards this year.

First, that trio led National League outfielders in wRC+, with Soto's figure of 156 easily being the best, while Carroll's 139 and Tucker's 136 rounded out the top three. As for home runs, Soto led the way with 43, followed by Carroll sitting tied for third with 31 and Tucker all the way down at 11th with 22. Finally, when it came to RBIs, once again it was Soto who paced the field with 105, while Carroll was ninth with 84 and Tucker was tied for 13th with 73.

Wood compared favorably to the winners when looking at the numbers from the other two finalists. He was fifth in wRC+ with a figure of 127, while Crow-Armstrong came in tied for 14th at 109. When it came to home runs, both Wood and Crow-Armstrong hit 31 longballs, while Crow-Armstrong had 95 RBIs compared to Wood's 94.

Unfortunately for Stowers, he had a real shot to win his first Silver Slugger this year if he hadn't gotten hurt to close the season. Because with only 117 games under his belt, he wasn't considered a qualified hitter, per FanGraph's metrics, which could have hurt him in the eyes of the voters.

Still, he had an impressive year. His wRC+ of 149 would have been second behind Soto. He also hit 25 home runs and had 79 RBIs, both numbers that likely would have been even higher had he stayed healthy.

Going forward, it's clear that it will be tough for Wood to take home a Silver Slugger Award. But based on what he did in his first full MLB season, he should be in the running each and every year with the chance to win multiple.

The rest of the winners across both the National and American League can be found on FanSided.