Tom Krasovic: Nationals did well but A.J. Preller was right to trade for Juan Soto.
Nearly two years after the Padres traded them to the Nationals for Juan Soto, the left-handed trio of former Padres draftees CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood represent an exciting future for Washington.
They’re all trending upward. Two stand as good big leaguers entering the typical prime years. The third may have the most upside of the group.
Abrams, 23, has batted .286 with 13 home runs (through Tuesday) as the Nationals’ regular shortstop. His defense and baserunning need polish, but having assembled 3.2 win shares and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage 47 points above the big-league average, Abrams may be headed to the All-Star Game.
Drafted out of a Georgia high school, Abrams played in just 114 minor-league games and still stands short of two full seasons’ worth of big-league games.
The lesson: He’s very talented.
Gore, 25, owns a 3.47 ERA across 17 starts and 90 innings. His good strikeout rate and home run suppression account for an adjusted ERA that’s 13 points better than the MLB average. Gore is no less than a good No. 3 starter.
