Soft-spoken Abrams under the spotlight at Nats camp

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – CJ Abrams is a young man of few words. Which is perfectly fine. That’s just who he is.

The soft-spoken 22-year-old, though, is one of the central figures of the Nationals’ rebuild, a highly touted, potential franchise shortstop acquired in one of the biggest trades in major league history. The spotlight on him is particularly bright, even if he’s the type to eschew the spotlight.

“No pressure, really,” Abrams insisted Thursday morning. “Every day, like I said, getting better with the young guys, growing together, having fun, getting wins.”

That’s all Abrams cares about at the moment. He’s 22, a starting shortstop in the big leagues and part of young core of newcomers that hopes to lift the Nationals back into regular contention again.

If extra attention happens to come with that, so be it.

“I think by having him come up last year and play with us, he kind of got his feet wet,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Talked to him about a lot of things. Made some adjustments with him. I think this year he feels comfortable being in the position he’s in. I don’t think he even really thinks about the trade anymore, and he’s just going out there trying to be the best shortstop he can be.”

Abrams wound up as the first of the five prospects the Nats received for Juan Soto and Josh Bell to debut for his new club. With MacKenzie Gore rehabbing from an elbow injury and Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana all in the low minors, Abrams was the early focal point in D.C. Fairly or unfairly, his immediate performance was used to judge the merits of the controversial, blockbuster trade.

In the field, Abrams dazzled from the get-go, showing off impressive range and a strong arm. At the plate, it took a little while to find his groove. Over his first 16 games, he went just 8-for-54 with one double, one walk and 14 strikeouts. Weak contact, especially on the ground, was a consistent theme.

Then the calendar switched to September, and things began to click for Abrams. Over his final 28 games, he hit .314 with eight extra-base hits, only nine strikeouts and a .730 OPS. Many of those weak ground balls turned into solid line drives.

Abrams, for the first time since the trade, felt like himself.

“Yeah, most definitely,” he said. “Towards the end, I was hitting my pitch instead of the pitcher’s pitch.”

There’s still plenty of room to grow, of course. Abrams hit for very little power, even though he had a fairly impressive track record in that department, owner of a .511 slugging percentage in 534 career minor league plate appearances.

He believes he’ll be aided this season by some extra weight he put on over the winter. He gained six or seven pounds – “which is pretty good for me!” – and now checks in at a robust 190 pounds. He’s hit a few home runs in live batting practice against Nationals pitchers, showing he does actually have that club in his bag.

Above all else, the Nats want Abrams to focus on hitting pitches in his comfort zone, not chasing the way he did his first couple of weeks after joining the team.

“He dropped his chase rate down while we had him,” Martinez said. “He was able to put more balls in play, hit more balls hard. And for that reason, his average went up. We want him to continue to work on that this spring. He likes the fastball up. That’s not good for him. So we’re trying to get him to get his eyes down, look for the ball down. He hits the ball down very well.”

Because of his body type, ability to hit for a high average and natural speed, Abrams seems like an ideal top-of-the-order hitter. He’ll probably get his shot up there at some point this season, but Martinez suggested it may not happen right out of the chute.

“I’m undecided yet,” the manager said. “We’ll see. I think for the beginning part, we might start him off at the bottom and see where he ends up. But the good news is, I get to write his name in the lineup every day. We’ll see how he does.”

In the meantime, Abrams will continue to focus on his work at shortstop and the responsibility that comes with that premium position. He has made a point to push second baseman Luis García to join him for every defensive drill he performs, displaying some quiet leadership in the process.

Abrams may say few words, but he doesn’t necessarily need to say much. His actions convey everything the Nationals need to know about him.

“He loves to be here; he told me that at the end of the season,” Martinez said. “I’m excited to write his name down in the lineup every day and watch him play.”