Main prospect of first Juan Soto trade set to make MLB debut with Nationals

Often times, when a team trades a young star with several years of club control, the team that acquires said star wins that trade easily. In the case of Juan Soto and the San Diego Padres, however, the same cannot be said. The Padres acquired Soto at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal with the Washington Nationals when he had 2.5 years of club control attached in exchange for a ridiculous prospect haul.

That package included the likes of CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore who have both flashed star potential at the MLB level since the trade. It also included several prospects that helped reshape Washington's farm system completely.

The best of the bunch is James Wood, who in his time with the Nationals has developed into one of the best prospects in all of baseball. Now, the Nationals are reportedly getting set to promote Wood to the majors for the first time for Monday's series opener at Nationals Park against the division rival New York Mets.

James Wood set to finally make Nationals debut

Wood is MLB Pipeline's No. 3 prospect overall. Not in the Nationals system, but in all of baseball. He has that much potential, and is so much fun to watch. Nationals fans got to experience that in Spring Training when he was dominating.

While Wood has always had immense potential, there were concerns mainly regarding his bat-to-ball skills and his ability to hit lefties. It's safe to say those concerns have been dealt with and can now be safely brushed aside. Wood's numbers reflect just that.

The 21-year-old is slashing .346/.458/.578 so far this season with 10 home runs, 34 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He has struck out just 41 times in 225 plate appearances compared to 39 walks, and actually has a higher OPS against lefties (1.101) than against righties (1.014).

Wood should step into Washington's lineup and play regularly. He's seen time in all three outfield spots but is primarily a center fielder, which only adds to his immense potential.

He's a six-foot-seven athletic freak who can hit for power, run, has improved his bat-to-ball skills, and can defend. He has superstar potential, and is a player that Nationals fans should be eager to see as soon as Monday.

The Nationals have already done very well in the Soto deal with the contributions they've gotten from Abrams and Gore, and Wood's potential overshadows both of them by a substantial margin. Perhaps Wood can help the 38-42 Nationals stick around in the Wild Card hunt, too.