James Wood Blasts Home Run,Joins Bryce Harper in Washington Nationals' Record Books

James Wood was surrounded by hype before he ever reached the big leagues, and he has been doing the most to live up to those lofty expectations so far.

The Washington Nationals outfielder continued to show flashes of star potential Tuesday afternoon against the Cleveland Guardians, stepping into the batter's box with one out and one on in the bottom of the third. Up in the count 2-1, Wood turned on a low-and-inside cutter from Luis L. Ortiz and sent it screaming over the wall in right, gifting his team an early 3-2 lead.

The ball only traveled 374 feet, but with an exit velocity of 114.6 miles per hour, it was a missile of historic proportions.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Wood is the first Nationals player with multiple home runs of at least 114 miles per hour in a single season since the Statcast Era began in 2015. His two career homers of that speed are now tied with Bryce Harper for the most by any Nationals player in that span, as Harper hit one in 2017 and one in 2018.