CJ Abrams

CJ Abrams

24-Year-Old ShortstopSS
Washington Nationals
2024 Fantasy Outlook
The centerpiece of the Nationals' return for Juan Soto, Abrams laid the foundation for what could be a long and prosperous MLB career in his first full season with Washington. At 22 years old, Abrams hit 18 homers and stole 47 bases in 151 games, finishing fifth in the majors in the latter category behind Ronald Acuna, Esteury Ruiz, Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt. Abrams made 71 starts out of the leadoff spot and totaled 83 runs scored. His batting average was .228 or lower in four separate months of the season, and his Statcast page is icy blue, which for some may appear reminiscent of Victor Robles' 2019. No player is a sure thing, but it would be a surprise if Abrams went the way of Robles as Abrams has more speed, more pedigree and more discernible skill already at this stage. Now 23, Abrams will look to build on his 2023 showing as the Nationals' everyday shortstop. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#53
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Nationals in March of 2024.
Headed for minors
SSWashington Nationals
September 21, 2024
The Nationals optioned Abrams to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Since the All-Star break, Abrams has slashed just .203/.260/.326 with five home runs and 17 RBI -- a stark contrast from the .832 OPS he logged during the first half of the year. However, manager Dave Martinez said Saturday that Abrams' demotion is not related to his performance. Instead, the decision to send him down to the minors comes amid reports that he stayed out past curfew at a casino in Chicago prior to Friday's early-afternoon game against the Cubs, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. With Rochester's season wrapping up, the 23-year-old will instead report to the Nationals' complex in Florida for the final week of the season. Meanwhile, Nasim Nunez will likely be first in line to take over as Washington's primary shortstop.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
86
9
1
2
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
30
5
1
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+22%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+13%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+54%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+81%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .611 449 52 8 46 19 .217 .271 .341
Since 2022vs Right .743 1069 143 32 104 66 .258 .315 .428
2024vs Left .812 188 26 5 22 9 .293 .340 .471
2024vs Right .717 414 53 15 43 22 .223 .303 .414
2023vs Left .511 169 19 3 18 8 .166 .240 .272
2023vs Right .786 445 64 15 46 39 .274 .322 .464
2022vs Left .387 92 7 0 6 2 .157 .185 .202
2022vs Right .702 210 26 2 15 5 .287 .322 .379
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+5%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+22%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+15%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+13%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .685 728 92 19 75 33 .240 .296 .389
Since 2022Away .721 790 103 21 75 52 .251 .307 .414
2024Home .667 275 34 9 32 7 .229 .284 .383
2024Away .816 327 45 11 33 24 .260 .340 .476
2023Home .764 298 42 9 34 23 .258 .326 .438
2023Away .663 316 41 9 30 24 .233 .275 .389
2022Home .568 155 16 1 9 3 .226 .260 .308
2022Away .642 147 17 1 12 4 .268 .301 .341
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Stat Review
How does CJ Abrams compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.31
 
BB Rate
6.6%
 
K Rate
21.3%
 
BABIP
.285
 
ISO
.187
 
AVG
.246
 
OBP
.314
 
SLG
.433
 
OPS
.747
 
wOBA
.326
 
Exit Velocity
88.2 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
33.7%
 
Barrels/PA
4.8%
 
Expected BA
.247
 
Expected SLG
.409
 
Sprint Speed
23.3 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
40.0%
 
Line Drive %
18.2%
 
Fly Ball %
41.7%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
Abrams, the No. 6 overall pick in 2019, was traded from San Diego to Washington in the blockbuster Juan Soto deal. His numbers down the stretch with the Nationals were mostly underwhelming, although he stole six bases in 44 games following the trade, showcasing the speed that made him a top prospect in both real-life and fantasy circles. At 22 years old, Abrams is still mostly projection with the bat. He showed that there is some thump in there during his time at Triple-A El Paso last season, smacking seven homers with a .507 SLG in 30 games with the affiliate, but he didn't look particularly close to putting it together at the big-league level. The Nationals will be patient with Abrams as they embrace a long-term rebuild. Can he hit enough at this stage to allow the speed to play?
Abrams, one of the fastest players in the minors, was performing as expected at Double-A before suffering a fractured left tibia and a sprained MCL in early July. Any kind of prospect ranking method that incorporates hard-hit data is going to be much lower on Abrams, as he had a 15.7 Hard% in 183 PA before suffering the season-ending injury. However, he was one of the youngest players at Double-A and was still 12% better than league average. He is a career .343 hitter in the minors with a 14.4 K%, so his hit tool is way ahead of his power. His 80-grade speed has led to 28 steals in 76 games, and if he reaches his ceiling, Abrams has a chance to be a similar fantasy producer to Trea Turner. That upside is extremely alluring, but there is no denying the fact that he needs to make significant strides as a power hitter to be more than a slappy leadoff type. He has been gradually adding muscle to his 6-foot-2 frame, and this will be a big year for the 21-year-old speedster to show he is still heading in the right direction. With a strong start to the year, he could be in position to be the No. 1 prospect for fantasy following some graduations this summer. Expecting him to reach San Diego in 2022 is probably unrealistic, but shortstop, center field and second base are all potential landing spots in 2023.
In a normal year, Abrams would have spent the bulk of his age-19 season at High-A, but instead he spent the summer at the alternate training site. His top areas of improvement were his defense at shortstop, thanks to lots of hands-on work with the organization's best infield instructors, and added strength that has upped his long-term power potential. He still has a lean, 6-foot-2 frame reminiscent of Byron Buxton, but his forearms and biceps are stronger. Given that frame, it's difficult to envision him slowing down anytime soon, so 30-steal potential should be there for the foreseeable future. With burgeoning power, game-changing speed and a career .393 AVG and 14:11 K:BB in 34 pro games, there's really no cap on Abrams' fantasy upside. He probably won't debut at his natural position, but he is a special enough talent that the Padres should find a spot for him when he is ready, likely in early 2022.
The same six hitters were at the top of most team's draft boards in June, and while Abrams was the last of the six to get drafted (sixth overall), he had the most impressive statistical debut. An athletic prep shortstop with plus-plus speed, Abrams' bat-to-ball ability was on full display in the AZL. He logged a 9.0 K% and had as many steals (14) as strikeouts in 32 games. Abrams won the AZL's batting title and MVP award and his 189 wRC+ was the league's second-best mark. His hit tool and speed were as advertised, but he exceeded expectations in the power department (.261 ISO) and should grow into more thump as he fills out his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame. The plan was for him to spend the final month at Low-A, but a shoulder injury cut his season short just days after receiving that promotion. Some evaluators think he will eventually move to center field, but there are no real fantasy-relevant concerns.
More Fantasy News
Four hits, two steals in loss
SSWashington Nationals
September 20, 2024
Abrams went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Thursday's loss to the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to lineup
SSWashington Nationals
September 17, 2024
Abrams (shoulder) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff Tuesday against the Mets.
ANALYSIS
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Available off bench Monday
SSWashington Nationals
Shoulder
September 16, 2024
Abrams (shoulder) is available off the bench for Monday's game against the Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Remains on bench Monday
SSWashington Nationals
Shoulder
September 16, 2024
Abrams (shoulder) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Sitting again Sunday
SSWashington Nationals
Shoulder
September 15, 2024
Abrams (shoulder) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Keeping pace
SSWashington Nationals
August 9, 2023
Abrams has racked up 13 stolen bases since the All-Star break.
ANALYSIS
Abrams' stolen base total makes him the only player ahead of Ronald Acuna's 12 swiped bags over that span. Abrams' bat has come to life as well, as he's hit .306 with an .855 OPS across his last 98 at-bats. However, lefties remain kryptonite for the 22-year-old, as he owns a lowly .198 batting average in 125 plate appearances versus southpaws this season.
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