A couple of years ago, when the Washington Nationals traded Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, they demanded that one of the pieces they received was CJ Abrams.
A star prospect back then, Abrams took some time to develop.
Now, however, the Nationals have one of the premier young talents in the league because Abrams is breaking out in a big way.
One MLB insider made a bold claim and said that he will, one day, become an MVP-caliber player.
“CJ Abrams will be a league MVP one day,” Jon Morosi tweeted.
Morosi discussed the emergence of the Nationals’ young infielder at length on MLB Network, and identified him as a potential candidate to fight for the highest individual award the league has.
Perhaps tabbing him as a 2024 NL MVP candidate might be a bit premature, but it’s certainly not crazy if we go to the stats.
In 21 games and 95 plate appearances, Abrams is slashing an incredible .302/.362/.628 with four doubles, three triples, six home runs, and five stolen bases.
He also has a very cool .990 OPS.
It will eventually fall a bit, but most of his skills are real and sustainable so you can expect him to keep making noise.
In reality, Abrams already showed some signs of maturity last year, when he hit 18 home runs and stole 47 bases with a .712 OPS.
This year, however, his power output has improved considerably, and he is still stealing bases.
Defense remains a pending subject, though, but he has the tools to be a WAR star one day.
The Nationals have to be very proud of their scouting eye and their player development skills.