CJ

Abrams

Abrams also homered Monday off Bowden Francis. That was the hardest-hit ball of his career, checking in at 112.7 mph, and one of his hits tonight wasn’t too far behind at 111.1 mph. Abrams had 20 homers in 602 plate appearances last season, and it seems he might be a little stronger now; he’s probably a little underrated in fantasy leagues.

Abrams led off the home half of the first inning by working Kodai Senga for a walk. He then stole second base and came around to score the game’s first run on a throwing error. He also plated a run of his own with an RBI single off of Jose Butto in the fifth inning that trimmed the Nats’ deficit to eight runs at 10-2. He has had a pretty solid spring overall at the dish, hitting .280 (14-for-50) with two homers, five RBI and a stolen base.

Abrams was back at shortstop today after leaving Wednesday’s game with cramps in both of his quads. The leadoff man is hitting .333/.353/.636 in 34 plate appearances this spring.

Abrams told reporters following his early exit from Wednesday’s spring training contest that both of his quad muscles tightened up while rounding the bases on his first-inning triple. It sounds like his removal was merely out of an abundance of caution with two weeks left until Opening Day. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Abrams tripled to lead off the first, remained in initially and then walked off the field to visit the trainer with two outs. Nasim Nuñez pinch-ran for him and stayed in to play shortstop.

Abrams’ three-hit performance raises his spring average to .276 (8-for-29) with one homer in nine Grapefruit League contests. The switch-hitting 24-year-old shortstop struggled during the second half of last season after suffering a wrist injury in late June, but he’s looked healthy in camp so far. He’ll serve as Washington’s primary leadoff option and boasts a realistic 20-homer, 30-steal floor. He’s a top-10 shortstop for fantasy purposes entering 2025.

The dynamic 24-year-old infielder smacked an RBI single off of Bryce Elder in the second inning that extended the Nationals’ early lead to 2-0. He also grounded out and popped out to third base in the contest. Abrams slugged a career-high 20 homers and swiped 31 bases during the 2024 season and could be poised for even greater heights in 2025 with a much improved supporting cast. There’s a reason that his average draft position currently sits inside the top 50 players overall in fantasy drafts.

There had been some rumblings given Abrams’ poor finish to last season that he could be at risk of moving down in the Nationals’ lineup, but Martinez quickly dispelled that notion at the outset of spring training contests. “The 3-4-5 will be kind of different. The 2-spot might be a little different at times. But we do know CJ’s going to lead off for us, and we’ll go with that for now,” Martinez added. The 24-year-old speedster appears poised to excel as the table-setter for what’s shaping up to be a very intriguing young lineup.

Abrams told reporters on Wednesday that he feels “faster, bigger and stronger” entering spring training following last year’s unexpected second-half slide (.538 OPS with five homers and 16 steals over his final 49 contests), which concluded with a highly public off-field incident that led to a late-September demotion to the minors for disciplinary reasons. The 24-year-old was a fantasy force during the first half, posting a robust .831 OPS with 15 round-trippers and 15 steals in his first 89 games before suffering a wrist injury in late June, which might’ve contributed to his late-season struggles. He projects as a likely 20-homer, 30-steal fantasy contributor moving forward and the fact that he spent the offseason focusing on his conditioning is an extremely encouraging development.

Abrams left the casino only hours before the Nationals game Friday against the Cubs and subsequently went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He was informed of the demotion after the game Friday, according to sources. Abrams is being sent to the Nationals’ minor league complex in West Palm Beach. The demotion won’t impact his service time as he’s already reached the threshold of 172 days on the major league roster for a full year of service time. Abrams is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter as he’s earned a Super 2 designation.