Before James Wood made his MLB debut in the nation’s capital tonight — he singled in his first at-bat, went 1-for-4 and walked in his final at-bat — Davey Martinez said he was confident the 21-year-old, a former second-round draft pick in 2021, would thrive in D.C. this season.By San Diego Padres — Acquired by Washington in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade in 2022) participated in spring training this year.
“I knew he’d be here this year. I didn’t know when, but he’s really been developing well,” the Nationals’ seventh-year captain explained. “He really has. I saw him in spring training, he faced major league pitchers and even though it was spring training, he handled it well. The biggest thing for me offensively is to embrace his walks. He’s got to embrace the walks and then he’ll do well.”
Before being promoted Monday, Wood had walked 40 times in 231 at-bats with Triple-A Rochester while batting .353/.463/.595 with 16 doubles and 10 home runs while striking out 42 times in 52 games with the team’s top minor league affiliate.
“We felt like Wood could give our offense a little bit of juice,” Martinez said when asked why he decided to bring Wood up now.
“I think his bat will definitely help us because we’ve struggled to score runs, but we felt he was ready. He checked all the boxes. He’s going to go through some growing pains like any other player, but we felt he was ready.”
Wood, the No. 1 prospect in the organization and No. 3 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America, “has been a great player in Washington’s minor league system and [ranked] 2nd in batting average among minor league hitters (2and.353), on-base percentage (2and.463), OPS (2and1.058) and slugging percentage (9NumberAs the Nationals emphasized in their comments following Wood’s debut, his batting average was .595.
Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images
Martinez said he knows it will be nerve-wracking but believes the young outfielder will be able to handle the pressure of a debut.
“I’m sure he’s a little nervous,” Martinez told reporters.
“I’ve been playing for 17 years and I’m nervous every day, but it’s part of the game. [rookie starter] Mitchell Parker’s heart has stopped. He feels the same. [Wood] He understands that he has to slow everything down and be on his feet. I love him. I think you all talked to him today and he’s very quiet. I think he’s been very quiet, but that’s just his personality.”
for example?
Why not treat your debut “like any other day,” as many would advise?
“At the end of the day, this is baseball,” Wood said during his pregame news conference at Nationals Park, “so I just try to look at it that way.”
What is the biggest difference between a minor and a major?
“I don’t know. It’s obviously a jump, and I won’t really know until I play it.”
How do you think you’ll feel when you step onto the field for the first time?
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m sure there will be some familiar faces in the stands,” the Olney, Maryland, native said of having family and friends at the ballpark.
Wood’s fan club got to watch as Wood, with a full count, smashed a sinker from left-hander David Peterson into the left side for a single the other way.The exit velocity was 106.7 mph.), first time up for the second time.
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Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images
Wood struck out on three pitches in his second at-bat, then grounded out on a Peterson sinker, his first pitch, in his third appearance against the starting pitcher. MetsRelief pitcher Jake Diekman batted first in the top of the ninth and advanced to second on a throw to first, but was eventually called out at third, sending the game into extra innings, tied 3-3.
Losing 9-3 1⁄2 The Nationals got four runs back in the bottom of the 10th. Wood showed discipline in a high-leverage at-bat, drawing a walk off left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Jay to bring home a potential tying run with two outs, but the team ultimately failed to mount a comeback and the game ended 9-7.
“He was pretty good,” Martinez said of Wood’s debut. “He did really well. We talked about it. He walked, got a hit in his first at-bat, hit it the other way and just worked hard. When you look at him, you don’t think he can run, but he runs pretty fast. He had a really good at-bat today. He really did. It’s unfortunate, we tied it and we didn’t get the win there, but that’s how the game goes. I mean, we didn’t give up, we played hard, and we’ve got to come back and go 1-0 tomorrow.”
Mackenzie Gore is 5 2⁄3 Gore threw 104 pitches, holding the Mets to one run, one walk and five hits while striking out eight batters, 21 of which were swinging, 13 of which were on four-seam fastballs, and 12 of which were called for strikeouts, nine of which were fastballs. Gore finished the season with a 3.47 ERA.
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CJ Abrams was the losing pitcher with one hit, two walks, and two runs in three at-bats, but his batting average on the day was .284 with an OPS of .860.
Wood, Gore and Abrams were three of five prospects acquired in the Soto (and Bell) trade, the others being outfielder Robert Hassell III (22 and currently in Double-A) and pitcher Jarlin Susana (20 this season and pitching for Class-A Fredericksburg).
“It was really exciting,” said Martinez, who saw Wood, Gore and Abrams take the field together in the major leagues.
“Like I said, I’m really excited to see these guys here now and see what’s to come. I’m really excited and I think the fans are too. These kids are going to play hard and do well.”
