The Washington Nationals could see a .500 record in sight at the end of May, a welcome sign that the young ballclub's profusion of talent was finally trending toward competitive results. A nightmarish June has crushed that optimism, however, as the Nats dropped 11 consecutive games before toughing out a 4-3 extra-innings victory versus the last-place Colorado Rockies on Thursday. Once again, fans' focus is shifting to player development rather than team success.

Well, at least James Wood is making it worth their while. The 22-year-old left fielder is rising rapidly into stardom, earning serious consideration for the Midsummer Classic after a fantastic first half to the 2025 campaign. He is making locals feel better about the 2022 Juan Soto trade with each passing day. His latest feat is truly something to behold.

Wood smashed a 451-foot home run in the fourth inning to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night, marking the 12th time this year he has hit a 110-plus-MPH dinger. That leads the big leagues, per the MLB X account. Through 156 total games with Washington, the 2021 second-round draft pick already looks like a genuine game-changer. He is batting .279 with 21 homers, 57 RBIs and a .562 slugging percentage, establishing himself as an incredibly worthy All-Star Game candidate.

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It is just unfortunate the team as a whole is not inching much closer to relevance. An arduous National League East division is understandably causing problems, but the Nats (31-45) were recently swept by the Miami Marlins and dropped three of four to the Rockies. Those seven games were played in Nationals Park. James Wood mercifully ended the demoralizing losing skid with a walk-off two-run blast. He is doing his best to help his squad secure another victory.

The phenom is one of four Washington players to go yard in LA (Nathaniel Lowe has two HRs), as the Nationals lead the Dodgers 7-2 at time of print. Considering the overall sense of hopelessness currently surrounding this season, a series win over the reigning World Series champions would be cause for thunderous exaltation in South Capitol Street.