Paul Christopher Abrams (born October 3, 2000) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres.

Amateur career

Abrams attended

Blessed Trinity Catholic High School Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, also known as Blessed Trinity or, informally BT, is an Archdiocesan Catholic high school in Roswell, Georgia, United States, a northern suburb of Atlanta. The multi-level curriculum provides Advanced Placemen ...

in Roswell, Georgia. In 2018, he played for Team USA in the U-18 Pan-American Championships. As a senior in 2019, he was the Georgia

Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

after hitting .431 with three

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 27 runs batted in (RBI). He committed to play college baseball at the University of Alabama.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Abrams was considered one of the top prospects for the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. The San Diego Padres selected Abrams in the first round, with the sixth overall pick. He signed with the Padres on June 8 for $5.2 million, and was assigned to the Arizona League Padres, where he hit safely in his first twenty games. In August, he was promoted to the Fort Wayne TinCaps. He was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

four days following the promotion due to a shoulder injury. Over 34 games between the two clubs, Abrams batted .393/.436/.647 with three home runs, 22 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Abrams did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Abrams was assigned to the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

to begin the 2021 season. In June 2021, Abrams was selected to play in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. In a June 30 game against the Corpus Christi Hooks, Abrams collided with second baseman

Eguy Rosario Eguy Rosario (born August 25, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Rosario signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free a ...

at second base attempting to field a ground ball up the middle and had to be helped off of the field. On July 4, Abrams was diagnosed with a fractured left tibia and sprained medial collateral ligament, ending his 2021 season. In 42 games with the Missions, Abrams had hit .296/.363/.420 with two home runs and 23 RBIs. On April 7, 2022, the Padres selected Abrams' contract, adding him to their

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster. He made his major league debut on April 8. On April 14, Abrams hit his first career home run off of Atlanta Braves starter Charlie Morton.

Washington Nationals

On August 2, 2022, Abrams, along with

MacKenzie Gore MacKenzie Evan Gore (born February 24, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres. Amateur career Gore attended Whitevil ...

Luke Voit Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. Voi ...

, Robert Hassell, James Wood, and

Jarlín Susana Minor league players and teams affiliated with the Washington Nationals professional baseball organization include: Players Jake Alu Jacob Alu (born April 6, 1997) is an American professional baseball Infielder in the Washington Nationals or ...

were traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nation ...

and Josh Bell.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, C. J. 2000 births Living people People from Alpharetta, Georgia Sportspeople from Fulton County, Georgia Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Major League Baseball shortstops United States national baseball team players San Diego Padres players Washington Nationals players Arizona League Padres players Fort Wayne TinCaps players San Antonio Missions players El Paso Chihuahuas players Rochester Red Wings players