Emerging stars Abrams, Young have Nationals’ rebuild ahead of schedule

The Washington Nationals were not supposed to be competitive this season.

Experts predicted the rebuilding roster would finish near the bottom of the NL East for a fifth consecutive season. But the squad, powered by a youth movement, entered May just one game below .500.

Shortstop C.J. Abrams has emerged as a walking highlight reel in 2024. The 23-year-old is posting All-Star caliber stats as he led the Nationals in batting average, home runs and RBI in April as the team closed the month with a 14-15 record. 

“He’s doing outstanding, he really is,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Tuesday. “And I’ve said this before, he’s matured so much just in his overall game.”

Abrams joined the franchise in 2022 in the trade that sent All-Star outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres. Abrams started to emerge last season with solid statistics, including 47 stolen bases.

However, Abrams broke into the spotlight this spring. This year is different for the Georgia native. He found his power. 

“His chase rate is down … the pitches he’s swinging at are better pitches, he knows what he can handle,” general manager Mike Rizzo said on 106.7 The Fan. “And the pitches that he had trouble with when he first came up to the big leagues … he’s worked really, really hard to compensate for that and to overcome that.”

Abrams set an MLB record in April, becoming the first player to record seven home runs, six stolen bases and four triples in the first 25 games of a season. 

The 23-year-old leads the National League in triples. Entering May, he ranks fourth in the league in slugging percentages, ahead of superstars like Soto and Shohei Ohtani.

“You start with a really talented young player … that wants to be great, doesn’t want to settle to be good, and I think you’re kind of seeing this guy scratch the surface of what he can possibly be as a player,” Rizzo said.

Nationals rookie outfielder Jacob Young has joined Abrams as a first-month breakout player. The 24-year-old is wreaking havoc on the base paths, swiping 12 bags in April which is good enough for fourth in the league. 

“I think, honestly, part of it is you’re born with it. As a little kid, I was always fast. But as I got older, I knew it was something that could kind of be the difference for me.” Young told MLB.com.

Young, a 2021 seventh-round pick, entered May with 25 career stolen bases without having ever been caught. With four more steals, he will tie an MLB record for the most consecutive steals without being caught to start a career. 

“[Young] gets on a lot, and then when he does, he gets an extra 90 feet with a lot of stolen bases,” Abrams said. “It makes my job a little easier to drive him in. … I love to watch [him].”

The emerging players have propelled the Nationals forward. The team that was expected to finish as one of the worst in the league has found success. Though Washington has struggled against high-performing teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team has remained competitive.

Sportsbooks saw the Nationals as candidates to lose 100 games this year before the season started. Washington’s over/under was set 65.5 wins, the third-lowest in the league. 

“We’re having fun out there,” Abrams said after a four-game sweep of the Miami Marlins. “You probably can see it, but we have good momentum going and we’re going to try to keep it going.”

The breakout stars have Washington ahead of schedule with more young players on the way. 

Outfield prospect James Wood is No. 13 in MLB.com’s prospect rankings. The 21-year-old is batting .326 in Triple-A. Fellow outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in last year’s MLB draft, ranks sixth on the prospect list.

Experts believe both players will make their major league debuts later this season. 

“Overall, we’re playing good baseball,” Martinez said Tuesday. “It’s April, it’s nice to win games in April. Now we’re going into May. I break the season down and I always tell myself, ‘We can win 15 games a month, that’s pretty good.’ So let’s win 16 next month.”