CJ Abrams spent the first half of the season building the kind of line that gets everyone’s attention. The real test, though, was always going to be what came next.
For the Washington Nationals shortstop, the second half has been the place where the story has gone sideways in recent years. This time, he’s attacking that narrative head-on.
Abrams entered the year with a clear goal: finish stronger over a full 162-game season. He was open about improving his work habits and diet, and the early results have matched the intent.
The 25-year-old put together his best first half yet, hitting .275 with 20 homers, 67 RBI and an .862 OPS, good enough to earn the starting shortstop job for the National League. June was quieter, but it hardly looked like a collapse.
He still hit six homers and posted a .708 OPS, which is more of a normal dip than the kind of fade that has followed him before.
July has looked like a different gear entirely. Abrams has been the best version of himself this month, hitting .350 with a 1.099 OPS.
That’s a sharp contrast from the last two Julys, when he had a wRC+ below 100. Right now, that number sits at 187.
The road trip has only amplified the surge. Abrams launched his 21st homer of the season in Sacramento, setting a career high with a blast to straightaway center on a 99 MPH heater.
For a hitter who usually lives on the pull side, that swing stood out. It looked like a sign that he was locked in.
He carried that momentum into Colorado and turned into a one-man wrecking crew. Abrams piled up seven hits in the series, including three home runs, and he homered in three straight games for the second time this season.
That run included a two-homer game in a Nationals loss. He didn’t go deep again yesterday, but he may have been even more impressive.
In Washington’s 8-0 win, he collected four hits, sprayed the ball around the field and handled tough pitches with authority. The victory pushed the Nationals back over .500.
The numbers now back up the eye test. Abrams owns a 144 wRC+ and a .384 wOBA, both career highs by a wide margin.
Before this season, his best marks were 107 and .324, both set last year. He has also set personal bests in home runs, RBI and WAR.
It’s still July, and he’s already in the middle of a career year.
Since the All-Star Break, Abrams is 11 for 26 with four home runs, a start that has gone a long way toward quieting the old second-half concerns. There’s still plenty of season left, and August and September will matter. But for now, the early returns are exactly what the Nationals wanted.
Trade rumors will keep hanging around as the deadline approaches, and a move is not impossible. Still, Abrams is doing his part to tune out the noise while the team keeps winning.
He also looks like a different player than the one who first arrived with questions about consistency. By all signs, he has grown into a leader in the clubhouse, someone younger players watch closely.
He’s vocal in the dugout, often talking through what the pitcher is doing and passing along what he sees. And if the bat cools off for a stretch, the current coaching staff appears better equipped to handle it.
Under Matt Borgschulte, hitters are getting adjustments sooner. The article points to James Wood as another example of a player whose contact issues don’t seem to drag on as long as they did last season.
That combination - Abrams’ maturity, a stronger hitting staff and a more competitive team around him - is why this stretch feels different. The Nationals still have a couple more months to play, but right now Abrams is giving them exactly what they needed: a career year and a second half that’s finally matching the first.
In Other News...
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Nationals Fans Just Got A Better Way To Track Game Day Weather
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The new setup centers on NatCast, a forecast product designed for days when weather could affect the game, and it will be folded into The Nats Reports previews and live updates. The idea is to keep fans informed as conditions change, whether the concern is a delay before first pitch, storms moving nearby, or weather shifting once the game is underway. [Read more 🡒]