The Washington Nationals dropped a tough series over the weekend following a brutal series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates in DC on Sunday afternoon. After the Nationals kept finding ways to battle back and disrupt the Pirates' great pitching staff, the bullpen once again let the team down ina big way.
It was a bit of a discoouraging series overall, and while the Nationals were able to avoid Paul Skenes, they were not able to avoid rookie phenom Konnor Griffin, who made his impact felt all over the field during the weekend. While Griffin might very well be a guy who starts the All-Star Game for the National League for years to come, he will have to unseat his opposition from the weekend first.
CJ Abrams and James Wood named to 2026 NL All-Star Team
That man that Griffin needs to unseat first is CJ Abrams, who was named as the starter for the 2026 NL All-Star team on Saturday afternoon. It is a big deal for Abrams, who has worked so hard on his craft and has become a true superstar so far this season for the Nationals. While he has cooled off a little bit recently, there is no doubt he was the right choice to start the game.
He currently owns a .269/.348/.498 slash line, good for an .846 OPS to go along with 18 homers, 61 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. With his selection to be a starter, he joins some elite Nationals company, becoming the first player to start the game from the Nationals since 2018, when both Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer started the game. Abrams also becomes just the 6th player in franchise history to start the game, joining Harper, Scherzer, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman, and Alfonso Soriano...not bad company to find yourself in.
Not to be overlooked, James Wood made the team as a reserve outfielder, but had more than a good enough argument to be a starter on this team. With a .266/.393/.533 slash line good enough for a .926 OPS, Wood has combined with Abrams to help propel this team into near-playoff contention as it stands now. Wood has also hit 23 homers, driven in 56, and has 13 stolen bases himself, while his 7 leadoff homers and 78 runs scored both lead all of baseball.
It will be a treat for Nationals fans to be able to watch both of their superstars play and take part in the festivities of the All-Star break in a short time from now, and hopefully the Nationals can find a way to sneak in a guy like Foster Griffin or Luis Garcia Jr. as well if anyone else backs out.
What do you think of CJ Abrams and James Wood both making the National League All-Star team? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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