Asked what he reflected on, Abrams showed little hesitation.
“My whole life. I mean, me and my dad, putting in the work since I was a little kid,” he said, his voice breaking ever so subtly. “He was excited — probably more excited than me. … We’re going to keep going, though. It’s just the first one, right?”
How, when Manager Dave Martinez broke the news to Abrams before Sunday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, could his mind go anywhere else? Instantly, he was a little kid again — and he celebrated as such, Martinez said, sporting a big grin and pumping his fist up by his chest. Abrams later addressed the team with a heartfelt speech, saying, “Without you guys, I can’t be me,” before sharing congratulatory hugs and laughs.
“It means a lot. I dreamed of it as a little kid, and I was a little kid when I heard it,” Abrams said. “I love it.”
That Abrams has played 277 games in a Nationals uniform can belie the fact that he is just 23. That he has been the Nationals’ most productive offensive player for the past calendar year can conceal the fact that he joined Washington on Aug. 2, 2022, the most momentous day of the team’s rebuild, as one of several young players with room to grow acquired from San Diego for superstar Juan Soto.
And as the rebuild has inched forward, no player has represented the Nationals — from the standpoint of productivity, star power or just about anything else — quite like Abrams.
“He’s the guy that makes us go,” Martinez said.
Abrams often is discussed using the demarcation point of the player he was and the player he is. That date is July 7, 2023, exactly one year before he was named an all-star — the day Martinez decided to bat him in the leadoff spot in hopes of instilling confidence in the franchise shortstop.
Since that point, Abrams has lodged himself in conversations alongside MLB’s best. Among qualified NL shortstops this season, his .353 on-base percentage trails only the .405 mark posted by injured Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts. His .506 slugging percentage leads NL shortstops, boosting his OPS to .859. He has 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases. And since June 6, he has the fifth-highest OPS in baseball.
Bit by bit, Abrams has shed the rougher parts of his game. When he arrived in the majors as a speed-first player with the potential for pop, it was easy to wonder whether he was going to hit the ball hard and high enough and pull it enough to become a power threat. This year, he has done all three. Last season, he was one of the worst fastball hitters in the majors. Entering Sunday, his 1.093 OPS against fastballs and sinkers trailed only those of Soto, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. He has become more disciplined at the plate, too.
Trading Soto will always sting for Washington and its fans, but the payoff has been enormous. James Wood, the top prospect in baseball, has looked incredible over his first week in the majors. MacKenzie Gore, the left-hander with ace potential and nasty stuff, has gotten better every year. Jarlin Susana and Robert Hassell III have shown flashes of brilliance in the minor leagues.
And yet none have impressed at the big league level like Abrams, who also has developed from a reserved clubhouse presence into a quiet, dependable leader. Throughout the season, when asked to describe the reasoning behind Abrams’s expedited development, refined routine and plate approach, Martinez has leaned on one word: maturity.
“He’s one of the young guys that we’re trying to build his team around, and for him to have the half that he’s had says a lot about where we’re at as far as youth,” Martinez said. “So we’re very happy for him, his family. It means a lot to us that he gets to represent the Nationals.”
Abrams admitted that in his youth he preferred to watch the Home Run Derby rather than the All-Star Game. The full list of derby participants, it should be noted, has yet to be announced.
The clubhouse was abuzz before the game, with the players wondering about their all-star selection, given a handful of promising options. Martinez mentioned that Jake Irvin (2.80 ERA, fifth among NL starters) and closer Kyle Finnegan (23 saves, tied for third most in the majors) also put together deserving cases. Abrams was the pick, but there is time for injury replacements to be named.
Abrams said he will celebrate with his parents and share the experience with them, and he looks forward to calling his brothers and friends back home.
“Lot of phone calls coming,” he said.