The Washington Nationals have dropped two games in a row to push their record to 3-5.

While it was always going to be an uphill battle against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the hope was the Nationals would at least have a good showing after they took two out of three against the Chicago Cubs and were close to doing the same against the Philadelphia Phillies. But Washington’s starting pitchers have let them down in their two games against the Dodgers, which has made it hard for the offense to climb out of those holes.

That especially is true because of the struggles of James Wood. The young star has not had a good start to the year by going 4-for-36 through eight games with an MLB-leading 16 strikeouts compared to four walks. And based on how he finished last season, there are plenty of alarm bells going off.

Blake Butera Not Pushing Panic Button at This Time

Manager Blake Butera discussed Wood’s performance at the plate after the game on Saturday, and he doesn’t seem overly worried yet, with him stating, “It’s been 35 at-bats, so I don’t want to overreact too much. We know James is a really good hitter. But we’re also trying to help him get back to who he is.”

There has to be at least some concern pulsing through the organization about Wood. He looked like the face of this franchise in the first half of last season. But following his participation in the Home Run Derby, things went off the rails for the slugger in the second half of the year which has carried over into 2026.

Strikeouts are the main issue with the 23-year-old. Butera previously stated they didn’t want to change much about Wood’s approach at the plate in fear that it would take away from his power numbers. But the slugger has been non-competitive in many at-bats this season, which has to be addressed.

“I think if you talk to James, he wants to probably capitalize maybe on some pitches earlier in at-bats. He seems to be down, like you mentioned, 0-2 or 1-2 almost every at-bat it feels like. And I think he is starting to put better swings on pitches earlier in the counts, he’s just not quite in sync at this moment,” Butera added.

Could James Wood Get a Reset in Triple-A?

It would be shocking to see the Nationals send Wood down to Triple-A, but the same could have been said regarding Dylan Crews to start the year. Because of that, if this regime believes the best thing for the long-term future of Wood is to give him time in Rochester to get things figured out, then there’s a chance it happens.

When that might occur isn’t clear, but it seems like the coaching staff is doing all they can to help the rising star get things going at the plate soon before they have to make that tough decision. While the strikeouts will always be a part of Wood’s game, he has to do damage to pitches more often if he’s going to be an effective hitter in the bigs, let alone an elite player like many believed he was going to become during the first half of last season.

So, as always, Wood will be someone to keep an eye on during the next few weeks. Hopefully he can get things going, but if not, then he could find himself down on the farm getting a reset in.