Jun 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood (29) celebrates after scoring a home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nationals Star Rookie Matches Two Franchise Icons Over His First 162 Games

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Jacob Moss | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 11:00 AM ET

There haven't been very many bright sports for the Washington Nationals over the first several months of the 2025 season, but one of the few has been the blossoming of rookie outfielder James Wood into a bonafide star.

After a solid showing over the second half of 2024, Wood has absolutely exploded over the first half of the new season.

As of this writing, the budding superstar holds a .283/.386/.552 slash line to go along with a team leading 22 homers and 64 RBIs.

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At just 22 years old, Wood has already become the new driving force for the Nationals at the plate, and he's also quickly becoming a hitter that even the most seasoned of pitchers have learned to fear.

This was perfectly illustrated on Sunday evening against the Los Angeles Angels, as Wood became the first hitter since the legendary Barry Bonds to be intentionally walked four times in one ball game.

That matchup on Sunday night against the Angels also marked Wood's 162nd game at the MLB level dating back to his call up last season, which is the equivalent to one full season of service time.

The 162-game mark naturally serves as the perfect landmark to analyze just how good the rookie has been, and it also serves as an easy point of comparison between him and two other Washington rookie phenoms.

Here’s how James Wood’s first 162 career games stacked up against Bryce Harper & Juan Soto’s https://t.co/7dhDZxQjWp pic.twitter.com/AQzgHcPp4z
— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2025

Normally, it would be a bit unfair to compare a rookie to two of the best hitters in baseball, in Bryce Harper and Juan Soto, but when the stats are this similar, it's kind of hard not to.

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Wood has matched both former Nationals rookie sensations in home runs, and has recorded almost 30 more RBIs over his first 162 games in a Washington uniform than Harper did back in 2012 during his legendary rookie campaign.

It's also a bit poetic that Wood has nearly identical stats to Soto, as the two were essentially swapped for one another back in 2022 when the San Diego Padres made their blockbuster trade for the then 23-year-old Soto.

With so many parallels between Wood and his predecessors, it's no wonder that Washington has crowned him the next team's next savior.

The talent is obviously there, but now he'll have to lead the team back to postseason prominence, just like Harper and Soto were tasked with doing before him.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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