Ever since coming to Washington as one of the main headliners in the infamous Juan Soto trade from the San Diego Padres, Nationals’ shortstop CJ Abrams has been excruciatingly close to proving his worth as a franchise player.
The 25-year-old made his Major League debut in 2022 and has been a steady contributor for the Nats, averaging 3.4 Wins Above Replacement per season across 433 games from 2023-2025. Abrams has flashed superstar potential offensively, generating plenty of excitement among the fanbase about the player he could become. For all the success he’s had, however, consistency has remained a struggle; seemingly continuing to plateau and settle in the good-not-great tier.
The 2026 season is still in its earliest stages, but this may be the year that Abrams finally takes that offensive leap and transcends into a full-on star. He’s had hot stretches before, so why might this one be different?
He’s finally doing what Nats fans have been pleading with him to do since he arrived in the organization: pulling the ball in the air with authority. On the surface, there’s plenty to love with how Abrams has begun his 2026 campaign. In 77 plate appearances, he’s already racked up 1.2 bWAR, is slashing .371/.481/.710, and has smacked 6 home runs, 3 doubles, 19 Runs Batted In, and stolen 4 bases.
Just leaving it at that would do more than enough to justify the current hype surrounding Abrams, but digging deeper reveals even more reasons why this stretch may be sustainable long-term. Coming into 2026, he had seen slight year-to-year improvements in his Pull-Air%, climbing from 13.4% in 2022 to 22.2% in 2025. His upward trajectory was encouraging, but it still wasn’t enough to elevate his game to meet the expectations he came with.
Then comes 2026, where he’s clocked in at a whopping 26.4% to go along with career-highs in Average Exit Velo (92.1 MPH), Barrel% (13.2%), and Hard-Hit% (50.9), among others. On the flip side, he’s also working with a career low in K% at just 13.0%. Summing up all the data, a very simple conclusion is revealed for why he’s playing at such a high level:
Abrams is rarely getting punched out, and he’s pulling the ball in the air with more frequency and authority than he ever has.
His tools were never questioned, and his upside was always mouthwatering. Now, Abrams is doing exactly what he needs to do to be successful by tapping into his physical traits and getting out in front of the ball at a high clip. Through 18 games, he’s done nothing but pummel opposing pitchers into submission. He’s routinely peppering the ball to his pull side with a combination of raw power and timing that Nats fans hadn’t yet seen during his tenure,
If the Nationals want to work themselves out of their rebuild cycle and make a legitimate playoff push, whether this year or further into the future, they need foundational pieces. Abrams has been talked about as one for a while, and this year, he’s finally meeting the moment.