James Wood

James Irvin Wood (born September 17, 2002) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Washington Nationals organization. Early life and amateur career Wood grew up in Olney, Maryland and initially attended school in DC 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 Wood was selected with the 62nd overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres. He signed with the team on July 20, 2021, and received a $2.6 million signing bonus. Wood was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Padres to start his professional career, batting .372 with three home runs, 22 RBIs, and ten stolen bases over 26 games. He opened the 2022 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm of the Single-A California League. On August 2, 2022, Wood, along with C. J. Abrams, Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell, and Jarlín Susana were traded 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 RBIs 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 RBIs in 42 games with Wilmington. He was selected to play in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game.