CJ Abrams named National League All-Star

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams will represent the organization in the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Dallas. His first All-Star selection, Abrams was chosen by Major League Baseball. The 2024 All-Star teams were unveiled earlier this evening during the “2024 MLB All-Star Selection Show” on ESPN.

Abrams, 23, put up some of the best numbers across National League shortstops in the first half of the 2024 season, leading the group with a .506 slugging percentage. He ranked second in extra-base hits (40), OPS (.859), RBI (46) and triples (5). Advanced metrics, according to Baseball-Reference.com placed him second in wins above replacement (3.5) and OPS+ (146), and he ranked second in wRC+ (138), according to FanGraphs.com.

Not only was Abrams one of the top shortstops in the National League, he also ranked in the top 10 among all National League hitters in several categories, including triples (3^rd, 5), extra-base hits (5^th, 40), slugging percentage (7^th, .506), OPS (7^th, .859), doubles (T8^th, 21) and runs scored (9^th, 56).

Through Sunday’s game against St. Louis, Abrams is hitting .282 with 21 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs, 46 RBI, 29 walks, 14 stolen bases and 56 runs scored in 82 games. He’s posted a .353 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging percentage along the way.

Since June 6, Abrams ranks second in the National League with a 1.109 OPS, trailing only Shohei Ohtani (1.173). The Nationals shortstop is hitting .363/.472/1.109 with 11 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 20 RBI, 16 walks, six stolen bases and 24 runs scored in 27 games over this stretch.

Abrams opened the season strong, hitting .316 (25-for-79) with a .671 slugging percentage (4 2B, 2 2B, 6 HR) in his first 19 games of the season. He hit two leadoff home runs during this span, April 17 at Los Angeles (NL) and April 20 vs. Houston.

In addition to the two leadoff home runs in April, Abrams hit one on June 29 at Tampa Bay and on July 6 vs. St. Louis. His four leadoff home runs this season are tied for second in the National League and tied for third in Major League Baseball. Abrams has a .531 slugging percentage in 73 games from the leadoff spot, the fourth best in the National League.