90% season-shape match
Why he matters right now
James Wood is top-10 in the majors in runs
He is 2nd in runs at 101 — placements on MLB's own season boards, which rank every QUALIFIED hitter in the sport rather than the few dozen this site tracks. Qualified is MLB's own bar, and it is the reason a part-season player with a big number is not on these boards at all.
This has been his headline for 4 straight days.
The case in 30 seconds
- 101 2nd in runs at 101 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- OPS .925 — 3rd of 50 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
- 95.2 mph average exit velocity 95.2 mph over 297 batted-ball events — 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters Statcast 2026 hardest-hit leaderboard (single season, top 10 only — not a league-wide ranking)
- 101 101 runs, past his previous best of 87 in 2025 year-by-year record, 2 prior seasons since 2024 (MLB Stats API, cached)
- Average exit velocity95.2mph
- Hard-hit rate57.9%
- Barrel rate20.9%
- Max exit velocity116.3mph
This season only, 297 batted-ball events. Ranked 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters — that is a top-of-the-league board, not a league-wide ranking.
The honest caveat
It is still a partial season — 549 plate appearances so far. A rate moves fastest against the strongest arms a schedule has left, and the schedule ahead is not the schedule behind.
What to watch next
Next up: at Los Angeles Dodgers. 19 more to reach 120 RUNS.
Every claim above, with its source (4)
- 2nd in runs at 101 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- OPS .925 — 3rd of 50 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
- average exit velocity 95.2 mph over 297 batted-ball events — 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters Statcast 2026 hardest-hit leaderboard (single season, top 10 only — not a league-wide ranking)
- 101 runs, past his previous best of 87 in 2025 year-by-year record, 2 prior seasons since 2024 (MLB Stats API, cached)
Other cases this page considered and did not lead with: James Wood sits 3rd in OPS among 50 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board; James Wood is on the season's hardest-contact board; James Wood has already passed his career best in runs.
The evidence
Tracked on Live Chases
- 58+1 Runs Significant · WATCH No. 2 of 3runs chases 101 record 177 — Babe Ruth, 1921 114projected, against 120 · near pace
The score is an editorial score, not a measurement on a common scale. The rank above is this player's position on his own category's board — the ordering the site stands behind. See all tracked chases →
What changed last night
1-for-4
L 5-6 vs Los Angeles Dodgers · 2026-09-05
carries a .267 average into today
What to watch next
at Los Angeles Dodgers
UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium · 10:10 p.m. ET
Facing Justin Wrobleski
James Wood faces a left-hander in Justin Wrobleski. He is hitting .261 with 9 home runs in 165 at-bats against left-handers this season.
Situational splits
| Split | AB | AVG | HR | RBI | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 285 | .270 | 21 | 50 | .970 |
| vs LHP | 165 | .261 | 9 | 24 | .841 |
| Home | 222 | .293 | 20 | 40 | 1.043 |
| Away | 228 | .241 | 10 | 34 | .810 |
| Day | 190 | .242 | 15 | 28 | .914 |
| Night | 260 | .285 | 15 | 46 | .934 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
117G
450AB
120H
.267AVG
30HR
74RBI
18SB
282B
13B
.925OPS
Chasing .400
.267Current AVG
100Consecutive hits needed to reach .400
100-for-100Needed over next 100 AB
1.482Rest-of-season AVG to finish .400 (83-for-56)
Status: IMPOSSIBLE
Milestone tracker
| Chase | Target | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .350 AVG | .350 | .267 | .267 | 1.036 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .380 AVG | .380 | .267 | .267 | 1.304 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .400 AVG | .400 | .267 | .267 | 1.482 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .406 AVG | .406 | .267 | .267 | 1.536 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .466 AVG | .466 | .267 | .267 | 2.071 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 50 HR | 50 | 30 | 34 | 20 in 18 g · 1 per 2.8 AB | EXTREME |
| 60 HR | 60 | 30 | 34 | 30 in 18 g · 1 per 1.9 AB | EXTREME |
| 62 HR | 62 | 30 | 34 | 32 in 18 g · 1 per 1.8 AB | EXTREME |
| 70 HR | 70 | 30 | 34 | 40 in 18 g · 1 per 1.4 AB | EXTREME |
| 73 HR | 73 | 30 | 34 | 43 in 18 g · 1 per 1.3 AB | EXTREME |
| 200 Hits | 200 | 120 | 135 | 80 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 225 Hits | 225 | 120 | 135 | 105 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 250 Hits | 250 | 120 | 135 | 130 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 262 Hits | 262 | 120 | 135 | 142 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 50 SB | 50 | 18 | 20 | 32 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 80 SB | 80 | 18 | 20 | 62 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 100 SB | 100 | 18 | 20 | 82 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 130 SB | 130 | 18 | 20 | 112 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 50 2B | 50 | 28 | 32 | 22 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 60 2B | 60 | 28 | 32 | 32 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 67 2B | 67 | 28 | 32 | 39 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 20 3B | 20 | 1 | 1 | 19 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 25 3B | 25 | 1 | 1 | 24 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 36 3B | 36 | 1 | 1 | 35 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 125 RBI | 125 | 74 | 83 | 51 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 150 RBI | 150 | 74 | 83 | 76 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 175 RBI | 175 | 74 | 83 | 101 in 18 g | EXTREME |
| 191 RBI | 191 | 74 | 83 | 117 in 18 g | EXTREME |
How likely is the finish?
0%finishes with 40+ home runs
0%finishes with 50+ home runs
0%finishes with 60+ home runs
His rate of 54.640 home runs per 1,000 plate appearances is read as 49.670 after regressing toward the league's 30.150 — a leaderboard selects for players who have outperformed, so an unregressed rate projected forward overstates every one of them. That puts the expected finish at 32.8, against a straight team-game pace of 34. Exact beta-binomial over 69 remaining plate appearances, averaged across playing-time scenarios. Calibrated against Retrosheet finishes: within 7 points of observed frequency in every band, and within 2 in three of five. It is a model, not a measurement.
Home run pace vs the benchmark seasons
0.6%of comparable chases reached 40 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 50 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 60 HR
Empirical: seasons within ±2 HR of his total at the same team-game checkpoint (n=712); median finish 32. Retrosheet.
Recent game log
Derived nightly from the snapshot ledger — each row is the difference between consecutive days; multi-day rows are labeled.
| Date | Opp | Result | AB | H | HR | RBI | R | SB | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-05 | Los Angeles Dodgers | L 5-6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .267 |
| 2026-09-04 | Los Angeles Dodgers | L 3-5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .267 |
| 2026-09-01 | Atlanta Braves | W 9-5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 |
| 2026-08-03 | Philadelphia Phillies | L 3-6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 |
| 2026-08-02 | Atlanta Braves | L 2-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .266 |
| 2026-08-01 | Atlanta Braves | L 3-8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .267 |
| 2026-07-31 | Atlanta Braves | L 2-6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .269 |
| 2026-07-30 | Atlanta Braves | L 4-5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .270 |
| 2026-07-29 | Toronto Blue Jays | L 2-5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .271 |
| 2026-07-28 | Toronto Blue Jays | W 8-6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .269 |
Recent highlights
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Through 144 team games; 63 in 2001