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 Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, 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 The 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The ...

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 The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. On August 2, 2022, Wood, along with

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, Robert Hassell, and Jarlín Susana were traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for

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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 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 ...

Personal life

Wood's father, Kenny Wood, played college basketball at Richmond, where he is a member of the school's athletic hall of fame, and professionally in Europe. His sister, Sydney Wood, played college basketball for Northwestern and was a team captain. Wood is the nephew of former NBA player Howard Wood.

References

External links

USA Baseball profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, James 2002 births African-American baseball players Arizona Complex League Padres players Fredericksburg Nationals players Lake Elsinore Storm players Baseball players from Maryland IMG Academy alumni People from Olney, Maryland Living people Wilmington Blue Rocks players Harrisburg Senators players