Nationals top prospect James Wood is set to make his Major League debut against the Mets

“It’s surreal,” said Wood, a native of nearby Olney, Maryland. “Just to be able to play for the team that I grew up with and watch, it’s a blessing.”

Wood is the No. 3 prospect in Major League Baseball’s pipeline. The 6-foot-7, 234-pound outfielder is hitting .353 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 1.058 OPS in the minors.

“He’s done a really good job at Triple-A,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I talked to him a little bit today about his routine, stick with his routine and just be where your feet are and have fun.”

Wood estimates that “over 50” friends and family will be in attendance for his debut.

“It’s cool just being back home and having my family here and trying to take it all in,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s still baseball, so I just try to look at it that way.”

Wood joins left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore (6-7, 3.60 ERA) and shortstop C.J. Abrams in a lineup that includes three players who came to Washington after the Soto trade.

Washington is just four games out of the final wild-card spot in the NL despite ranking 11th in the league in batting average (.235), 14th in home runs (68) and 12th in runs scored (341).

“We felt like he could give us a little boost on offense,” Martinez said. “We’ve been struggling to score runs and we think his bat will definitely help us. But we felt like he was ready. He checked all the boxes there.”

In a corresponding roster move, the team designated outfielder Eddie Rosario.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb