The Washington Nationals have concluded April baseball, and the results certainly could be much worse. The team, commonly expected to win <75 games, is 15-17 and on pace for 76 wins over 162 games. That slots our Nationals into 3rd place in the NL East, ahead of both the Mets and Phillies, and 7.0 games behind the Braves, and 0.5 behind the Marlins for 2nd. The road has been one of success in certain categories, and these 3 are the most notable as April showers aim to bring May flowers.
2nd Place in the MLB: Runs Scored Per Game
The Nationals have been night and day from pitching to hitting. While the team ranks 29th in Team ERA and 30th in Home Runs Allowed, it ranks 2nd in Runs per Game (5.5). The Nationals' 15 wins have been with 8+ runs scored, and 3 of those have been to 10+ runs. The team has scored 13 runs once, against the Phillies, and 14 runs this past Wednesday against the Mets.
The leader of this success has been behind CJ Abrams. While he is rumored to be traded, it seems like he should absolutely not be. With 2 more years under team control, the team sees Abrams play better and better, supported by the now-red-hot James Wood and his 10 home runs, which pave the way toward nearly 50 on the year. The team has 7 total players with a batting average > and only 2 of 14 qualified batters have a .200 average (Ruiz, Millas).
Foster Griffin is Top 20 in ERA
An unexpected star of the Nationals has been that of Foster Griffin. Among all 150+ starting pitchers in the MLB, Griffin ranks 20th in ERA through his 6 starts (2.67). Griffin has done so with a 1.07 WHIP, 33.2 IP (5.2 per Game), and 30 strikeouts. The MLB-turned-Japanese, and now again MLB, pitcher is wowing us with his pitching, which could be something amazing on the Nationals team behind him, and Cade Cavalli.
It is not to say that Griffin is playing well above expectations. In 3 NPB seasons, he averaged a 2.57 ERA. While the competition is shallower, his marks have still been great, and a big step forward from his last MLB season, which saw an >8.00 ERA in six 2022 starts.
James Wood Bats to All-Star Status
Wood began his season very shaky, recording just 3 hits in his first 6 games, 26 at-bats. Since then, Wood has been red-hot. Over 32 games, Wood has 10 home runs, which would pace him to hit over 50 home runs across 162 games. In 2025, Wood hit 30 home runs, so he is 67% ahead of pace.
The Statcast metrics show Wood to wow in the 100th percentiles of: Exit Velocity, Barrel Rate, and Hard Hit Rate. He is in the 99th percentile of Walk Rate and the 98th percentile for xSlugging. He is 8th in the MLB in Fangraphs Offensive Rating, and nearly 4 years after the Juan Soto trade, it seems like Wood is becoming a new, beloved version of that man himself.
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