Young shortstop C.J. Abrams was one of the central pieces that headed back to the Washington Nationals from the San Diego Padres in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade earlier this month.
Sure the Nationals and their fans had a hard time saying goodbye to the Soto era and a World Series championship that went with it. However, it’s now time for Washington to look to the future. That included the Nationals calling up Abrams ahead of Sunday’s game against his former San Diego Padres team.
Abrams will now make his Nationals debut this week as he looks to entrench himself in as one of the faces of their rebuild.
Related: Meet C.J. Abrams and top prospects Washington Nationals acquired in Juan Soto trade
C.J. Abrams brings former top prospect status with him to D.C.
Per MLB, Abrams was the No. 9 overall prospect in Major League Baseball heading into the 2022 season. He fininshed eighth on that list in 2021 and debuted at No. 25 shortly after San Diego made the Georgia native the sixth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.
To say that Abrams can help Washington expedite its rebuild would be an understatement. Despite some struggles in San Diego to open his MLB career this season, Abrams is seen as a five-tool prospect.
“Abrams’ top-of-the-scale speed is a game-changing tool that makes him an impact player on both sides of the ball. The strength Abrams has added to his ultra-projectable frame since signing shows in his ability to drive the ball and do damage from the left side, and scouts now like his chances of developing at least average game power to go along with a plus bat.”
MLB scouting report on C.J. Abrams
One of the faces of the Washington Nationals rebuild
Washington entered Sunday’s action with the worst record in baseball at 38-77, only to be shutout by Abrams’ former Padres team by the score of 6-0. The current iteration of these Nationals just isn’t good enough to compete on a daily basis.
It’s one of the reasons front office head Mike Rizzo opted to trade Soto rather than upping Washington’s contract offer to him. It also now has the Nationals looking to the future with Abrams being one of the key components to their rebuild.
In addition to Abrams, the Nats acquired other top prospects such as Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana as well as young pitcher MacKenzie Gore. Also acquired in the deal, Luke Voit has already made his Nationals debut.
With that said, Abrams will be the first of Washington’s new youngsters to debut with the big league squad. This comes after he excelled in limited action at Triple-A Rochester following the Soto blockbuster.
- C.J. Abrams stats (Triple-A): .290 average, 2 RBI, 4 SB, 7 runs scored
With a mere 114 minor league games under his belt, Abrams is going to have his fair share of early-career struggles at the next level. He may never be a 30 home run. 100-RBI guy. But he provides the tools necessary to be a legit All-Star performer.
Washington fans will now get their first look at one of the assets acquired for former franchise cornerstone Juan Soto. At the very least, it will give them something to look forward to as the Nationals close up shop on an otherwise disastrous season for the franchise.