89% 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 10 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 .919 — 3rd of 49 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
- 95.4 mph average exit velocity 95.4 mph over 309 batted-ball events — 1st 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 velocity95.4mph
- Hard-hit rate58.6%
- Barrel rate20.4%
- Max exit velocity116.3mph
This season only, 309 batted-ball events. Ranked 1st 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 — 570 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: vs Los Angeles Angels.
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 .919 — 3rd of 49 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 95.4 mph over 309 batted-ball events — 1st 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 49 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
- 72 Hardest Average Contact Historic · STATCAST only one tracked
- 55-1 Runs Notable · WATCH No. 2 of 3runs chases 101 record 177 — Babe Ruth, 1921 110projected, against 120 · extreme
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 RBI
W 4-3 vs Los Angeles Angels · 2026-09-11
carries a .266 average into today
What to watch next
vs Los Angeles Angels
Nationals Park · 4:05 p.m. ET
Facing Walbert Ureña
James Wood faces a right-hander in Walbert Ureña. He is hitting .267 with 21 home runs in 292 at-bats against right-handers this season.
Situational splits
| Split | AB | AVG | HR | RBI | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 292 | .267 | 21 | 50 | .965 |
| vs LHP | 174 | .264 | 9 | 25 | .836 |
| Home | 225 | .293 | 20 | 41 | 1.040 |
| Away | 241 | .241 | 10 | 34 | .805 |
| Day | 197 | .244 | 15 | 28 | .910 |
| Night | 269 | .283 | 15 | 47 | .925 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
122G
466AB
124H
.266AVG
30HR
75RBI
19SB
292B
13B
.919OPS
Chasing .400
.266Current AVG
105Consecutive hits needed to reach .400
103-for-100Needed over next 100 AB
1.927Rest-of-season AVG to finish .400 (79-for-41)
Status: IMPOSSIBLE
Milestone tracker
| Chase | Target | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .350 AVG | .350 | .266 | .266 | 1.317 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .380 AVG | .380 | .266 | .266 | 1.683 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .400 AVG | .400 | .266 | .266 | 1.927 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .406 AVG | .406 | .266 | .266 | 2.000 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .466 AVG | .466 | .266 | .266 | 2.756 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 50 HR | 50 | 30 | 33 | 20 in 13 g · 1 per 2.0 AB | EXTREME |
| 60 HR | 60 | 30 | 33 | 30 in 13 g · 1 per 1.4 AB | EXTREME |
| 62 HR | 62 | 30 | 33 | 32 in 13 g · 1 per 1.3 AB | EXTREME |
| 70 HR | 70 | 30 | 33 | 40 in 13 g · 1 per 1.0 AB | EXTREME |
| 73 HR | 73 | 30 | 33 | 43 in 13 g · 1 per 0.9 AB | EXTREME |
| 200 Hits | 200 | 124 | 135 | 76 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 225 Hits | 225 | 124 | 135 | 101 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 250 Hits | 250 | 124 | 135 | 126 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 262 Hits | 262 | 124 | 135 | 138 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 50 SB | 50 | 19 | 21 | 31 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 80 SB | 80 | 19 | 21 | 61 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 100 SB | 100 | 19 | 21 | 81 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 130 SB | 130 | 19 | 21 | 111 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 50 2B | 50 | 29 | 32 | 21 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 60 2B | 60 | 29 | 32 | 31 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 67 2B | 67 | 29 | 32 | 38 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 20 3B | 20 | 1 | 1 | 19 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 25 3B | 25 | 1 | 1 | 24 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 36 3B | 36 | 1 | 1 | 35 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 125 RBI | 125 | 75 | 82 | 50 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 150 RBI | 150 | 75 | 82 | 75 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 175 RBI | 175 | 75 | 82 | 100 in 13 g | EXTREME |
| 191 RBI | 191 | 75 | 82 | 116 in 13 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 52.630 home runs per 1,000 plate appearances is read as 48.200 after regressing toward the league's 30.170 — 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 32.0, against a straight team-game pace of 33. Exact beta-binomial over 50 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
0.0%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=781); median finish 31. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | Los Angeles Angels | W 4-3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .266 |
| 2026-09-09 | San Diego Padres | L 2-9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .266 |
| 2026-09-08 | San Diego Padres | L 4-5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .265 |
| 2026-09-06 | Los Angeles Dodgers | L 5-7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .268 |
| 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 |
Recent highlights
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Through 149 team games; 64 in 2001