{"id":83537,"date":"2024-08-19T20:59:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T00:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=83537"},"modified":"2024-08-19T20:59:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T00:59:24","slug":"james-wood-unconventional-path-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/19\/james-wood-unconventional-path-to-success\/","title":{"rendered":"James Wood&#8217;s Unconventional Path to Success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington Nationals rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/woodja03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Wood<\/a> has as much offensive upside as any prospect in baseball. Since his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/28\/washington-nationals-promote-james-wood\/\" target=\"_self\">call-up<\/a>, we have seen why Wood was such a highly touted prospect. Wood is hitting .284 with a .831 OPS, which amounts to a 135 wRC+. He has been red hot lately, hitting .372 with a 1.112 OPS over his last 21 games. However, this success has come with an unusual approach: James Wood is barely pulling the baseball. In fact, he pulled a fly ball for the first time on Sunday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"in\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/woodja03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Wood<\/a>, last 21 games&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>89 PA, .373\/.472\/.640, 11 XBH, 3 HR, 4 SB, 15.7% BB, 24.7% K<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NATITUDE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NATITUDE<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZdJ0Bb6RGb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ZdJ0Bb6RGb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Cross (@EricCross04) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricCross04\/status\/1825572835818926250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>James Wood&#8217;s Unconventional Path to Success<\/h2>\n<h3>A Unique Approach<\/h3>\n<p>In the modern game, pulling the ball in the air is a massively desirable outcome. Statistically, it is the most <a  href=\"https:\/\/blogs.fangraphs.com\/the-pulled-fly-ball-revolution-was-always-underway\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">productive<\/a> batted ball outcome. Players such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paredis01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaac Paredes<\/a> have made a career out of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/rays-isaac-paredes-excelling-with-pull-power\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pulling fly balls<\/a>. Paredes has pedestrian exit velocities, but still hit 31 home runs last year due to tapping into his pull-side power. Pulling fly balls is the current hitting meta.<\/p>\n<p>However, James Wood is not doing this at all. Before Sunday, he had <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FoolishBB\/status\/1825212176350785662\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not pulled<\/a> a single fly ball in his 172 plate appearances. He was also hitting the ball on the ground at a <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TJStats\/status\/1825215258912604348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">58%<\/a> rate. In other words, his approach to hitting was as inefficient as it possibly could be. Wood has been striking out a lot, hitting the ball on the ground a lot, and never pulling the ball. His results should be disastrous, but they are not. James Wood is an outlier. He can succeed without pulling the ball at all, but some occasional pulls would not hurt. We saw what he could do when he finally pulled a fly ball.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">James Wood &#8211; Washington Nationals (5)<br \/>\n<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gZN4CoHysb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gZN4CoHysb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBHRVideos\/status\/1825269312539525477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Why Wood Succeeds<\/h3>\n<p>Simply put, James Wood succeeds because he destroys baseballs. He has the <a  href=\"https:\/\/baseballsavant.mlb.com\/leaderboard\/custom?year=2024&amp;type=batter&amp;filter=&amp;min=150&amp;selections=pa%2Ck_percent%2Cbb_percent%2Cwoba%2Cxwoba%2Cexit_velocity_avg%2Csweet_spot_percent%2Cbarrel_batted_rate%2Chard_hit_percent%2Cavg_best_speed%2Cavg_hyper_speed%2Cwhiff_percent%2Cswing_percent&amp;chart=false&amp;x=pa&amp;y=pa&amp;r=no&amp;chartType=beeswarm&amp;sort=exit_velocity_avg&amp;sortDir=desc\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5th highest<\/a> average velocity of anyone with at least 150 plate appearances. He only trails <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/judgeaa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Judge<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/ohtansh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cruzon01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oneil Cruz<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&amp;search=Juan+Soto&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-08-19_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Juan Soto<\/a> with his 94.6 MPH average exit velocity. His 56.4% hard-hit rate only trails Judge, Ohtani, and Soto. In other words, he is hitting the snot out of the ball. This gives Wood a bigger margin for error. He can succeed without an optimal spray chart. Wood has always had a swing geared for hitting the ball the other way, but it was not this extreme in the minor leagues.<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of theories about why this is happening. He could just be getting used to the big leagues, or he might be trying to go the other way more. manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/martida01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Davey Martinez<\/a>&#8216;s theory is that teams are pitching Wood in a way where he is not able to pull the ball. He is succeeding anyway, but it is tantalizing to think about what Wood could be if he taps into pull-side power.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We\u2019ve been asking Davey &amp; James about this, and this was Davey\u2019s most recent response.<\/p>\n<p>Seemed to indicate it was about the way Wood\u2019s getting pitched to, though there\u2019s still been plenty of pitches inside. Regardless, that first fly ball that\u2019s pulled could really be something. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IPUVVzmSAl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/IPUVVzmSAl<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SoN7l7q7Lq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/SoN7l7q7Lq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/spencernusbaum_\/status\/1825219175998234728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Sky&#8217;s the Limit<\/h3>\n<p>Wood&#8217;s production while not tapping into his pull side just shows how high his ceiling is. He is a raw 21-year-old succeeding in his first taste of big-league action despite having so much room to improve. The opposite field power is part of what makes Wood special, and should not be phased out. Hitters like Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are so special because they can hit it out to all fields. However, the pull side is part of the field too, and once Wood starts showing off that power, it could be a wrap for opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington Nationals rookie James Wood has as much offensive upside as any prospect in baseball. Since his call-up, we have seen why Wood was such a highly touted prospect. Wood is hitting .284 with a .831 OPS, which amounts to a 135 wRC+. He has been red hot lately, hitting .372 with a 1.112 OPS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5225,"featured_media":83566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1071],"tags":[501,2529,4076,4901,2133,3434,2178],"class_list":["post-83537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nationals","category-mlb","tag-aaron-judge","tag-dave-martinez","tag-isaac-paredes","tag-james-wood","tag-juan-soto","tag-oneil-cruz","tag-shohei-ohtani"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}