CJ Abrams has been spectacular this season, showing why he was a main piece in a trade for superstar Juan Soto
Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres, shortstop CJ Abrams is quietly becoming one of the best shortstops in all of baseball. The combination of great contact ability and sneaky power has been the key to his first All-Star appearance in 2024. Even with Washington struggling to find their identity, CJ Abrams has worked his way into becoming a franchise cornerstone.
Abrams has made many improvements in his game. From the defense to his plate discipline, there are many statistics you can argue have contributed the most during this stellar start to the season. Abrams is quietly jumping from fringe All-Star to potential superstar, improving his game in almost every aspect, and suddenly the conversation is:
This article dives into impressive statistical jumps and improvements with Abrams compared to his past seasons and why he should be considered amongst the best shortstops in the game.
**Stats are being used from Baseball Savant**
PERFORMANCE AGAINST OFF-SPEED PITCHES
Abrams performed well to start the season in 2024; however, as the season continued, his numbers slowly declined. Even with a small sample size in 2025, his numbers have once again impressed fans through the first couple of months of the season. Compared to 2024, Abram’s improvement against offspeed pitches should be considered one of his biggest improvements. Against off-speed pitches last season, Abrams hit .172 with a .253 slugging percentage, only recording seventeen hits. This season, Abrams has improved tremendously, batting .381 with a .619 slugging percentage and has already recorded eight hits through one-fourth of the season. Abrams has always been lethal against fastballs, but he still has struggles against breaking pitches, slightly regressing in 2025 compared to 2024. Looking even deeper into how impressive this jump is, MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. has performed well against offspeed pitches, but not at the level Abrams has. Witt is batting .308 with a .423 slugging percentage against offspeed up to this point in the season. Even though it is a small sample size, it is important to recognize the progression Abrams has made in his approach to non-fastball pitches.
PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
There are many advanced statistics when looking at plate discipline. Abrams has improved as a hitter since joining Washington in 2022. His most significant jump is in his out-of-zone swinging percentage. It has dropped almost nine percent since 2022 to this season, dropping from 41.2 percent to 32.4 percent. However, his walk rate is consistent from last season, staying around six percent. While he isn’t swinging outside the zone as much, his first-pitch swing percentage has also dropped from 42.7 in 2022 to 28.5 this season. Abrams is showing his ability to wait for pitches in the zone, become more patient, and see more pitches, giving himself a better opportunity to use his reformed hitting.
HITTING ABILITY
The increase in exit velocity, launch angle, barrel percentage, and hard hit percentage has been seen on full display this season. With his lack of high-end defense, Abrams needs to perform at the plate. His exit velocity has steadily increased since 2022, from 86.5 to 91.2, launch angle has improved tremendously from 6.8 to 16.2, and barrel percentage from 2.1 to 10.3. Seeing this explains the increase in average, slugging, and his on-base percentage. Even in a small sample size, the increase in launch angle and barrel percentage has proven to have a direct correlation to better offensive numbers.
With an incredible start to the season, it is important to understand that these numbers may not be sustainable throughout 162 games. Even so, Abrams’ improvement with mechanics and plate discipline has been a sight to see.
Comment about your thoughts on CJ Abrams and the potential he has, and the future for the Washington Nationals!