Biography
James Irvin Wood (born September 17, 2002) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
Early life and amateur career
Wood grew up in Olney, Maryland, and initially attended high school in Washington, D.C., where he played baseball and basketball. He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida after his sophomore season, giving up basketball in order to focus solely on baseball. He committed to play college baseball at Mississippi State shortly before transferring to IMG. After a strong performance while playing in the 2020 Area Code Games, Wood entered his senior year as a top prospect in the 2021 MLB Draft. Wood batted .258 as a senior, causing him to fall slightly in most draft prospect rankings.
Professional career
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres selected Wood in the second round, with the 62nd overall pick, in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team on July 20, 2021, and received a $2.6 million signing bonus, compared with the draft slot's recommended bonus of $1.1 million. Wood was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Padres to start his professional career, batting .372 with three home runs, 22 RBI, and ten stolen bases over 26 games. He opened the 2022 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Single-A California League.
Washington Nationals
On August 2, 2022, the Padres traded Wood, CJ Abrams, Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell, and Jarlín Susana to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Juan Soto and Josh Bell. The Nationals assigned him to the Fredericksburg Nationals of the Single-A Carolina League. Wood batted .293 with eight doubles, two home runs, and 17 RBI in 21 games with Fredericksburg. He was assigned to the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks at the beginning of the 2023 season. Wood was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators after batting .293 with eight home runs and 36 RBI in 42 games with Wilmington. He then hit .248 with 18 homers and 10 steals in 87 games for Harrisburg. He was selected to play in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game.
Wood was promoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings to begin the 2024 season. After hitting .353 with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 52 games at Triple-A, Wood was ranked as the #1 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America's 2024 midseason update. He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on July 1, 2024. On July 1, he got his first hit, a single, in the second inning against New York Mets' pitcher David Peterson. Wood finished the 2024 season playing in 79 games, hitting .264 with 9 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases.
On April 25 against the New York Mets, Wood hit his first career walk-off hit via a RBI single to give the Nationals a 5-4 victory over the Mets.
Player profile
Wood is listed at 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) and 234 pounds (106 kg), making him one of the tallest current players in MLB. He is regarded as a player with high potential because of his power, consistent ball contact, and speed. In his rookie season he had an Average Exit Velocity of 92.8 mph (95th percentile among MLB players) and a Sprint Speed of 28.7 feet per second (85th percentile).
Personal life
Wood's father, Kenny Wood, played college basketball at Richmond, where he is a member of the school's athletic hall of fame, and professionally in Europe. His sister, Sydney Wood, played college basketball for Northwestern and was a team captain. Wood is the nephew of former NBA player Howard Wood.