SNIDER: Nationals see their future with James Wood

James Wood won’t alone save the Washington Nationals, but he sure is exciting.

The rookie outfielder from the 2022 Juan Soto trade arrived on Monday to a house that stood and collectively iPhone videoed his first at-bat against the visiting New York Mets. The lumbering 6-foot-7 lefty who runs like a gazelle worked a 3-2 count before singling up the middle.

And the hope of rebuilding suddenly rose another notch.

The Nats have seen plenty of big rookie moments since arriving in 2005. Stephen Strasburg was astonishing with his 14-strikeout performance. Bryce Harper doubled and later hit a sac fly in his debut.

It doesn’t always work out well, though. Anthony Rendon went 0-for-4 before collecting his first hit the next night. Ryan Zimmerman struck out – hey, you can’t win them all even if you do become Mr. National.

But Wood is the first major prospect – ranked third among Major League Baseball prospects when promoted – since the 2019 World Series. The Nats are showing some teeth as a near .500 team after several awful seasons.

But just like the Washington Commanders need to be right on quarterback Jayden Daniels, so do the Nats need Wood to be a franchise player. His first night was just 1-for-4, but it showed maturity.

Wood worked a seven-pitch at-bat to a full count after a 1-2 start, the crowd presence thick in the air. He took two balls before fouling a pitch, then singled cleanly. A lot of guys would have struck out.

The second appearance in the fourth saw Wood take two clean strikes, then lunge at a low outside pitch. Punched out in three – welcome to the big leagues, kid. Chalk that calamity to nerves.

Wood returned in the seventh to ground out on the first pitch. Ugh!

Wood led off the ninth and hit a grounder on the second pitch only to reach on an error.

Naturally, the game went into extra innings. This was more of an event than Monday night midseason grind that drew 26,719, about 3,000 more than the season average. Not many stayed for the end, which saw the Nats bullpen surrender six runs.

Still, Wood batted one more time and drew a walk on five pitches before being left on second.

The Nats fell to 39-45, a 3-7 recent run undermining a brief glimpse of a possible wild card. The Nats aren’t quite ready for October. They need more relief pitching and a couple more bats. But Wood can be one of those bats. He can be a cornerstone like many past Nats for a franchise that has been around long enough to have legends come and go.

It was a glimpse of the future and things look good.