WORCESTER, Mass. -- James Wood gathered with his teammates in shallow left field two hours before the Triple-A Red Wings took on the WooSox at Polar Park. A pregame routine he has gone through countless times in his pro career had an extra feeling to it on Wednesday.

“It was good stretching with the team -- I hadn’t really done that in a while,” said Wood, MLB’s No. 4 overall prospect and the Nationals’ No. 1. “It just felt like I was coming back on the team again.”

Wood was placed on the seven-day injured list on May 28 with right hamstring tightness. He experienced the discomfort during a May 23 game and has been sidelined since.

“A little tweak in my hamstring,” Wood, 21, said. “... I’ve just been working out on it, stretching it a lot and running a lot. It feels good.”

Wood joined the Red Wings for their six-game road swing at Polar Park this week to continue his recovery.

“Today was the first day I kind of did my running early,” Wood said. “I’ve been swinging normal. I kind of went through a full practice for the most part [for the first time] today.”

Wood has been watching games this week from the top step of the visitor's dugout. His eyes stay glued to the action on the field, and he chats with teammates between innings.

“We have a lot of fun in the locker room, so it’s easy to stay engaged that way,” Wood said. “You kind of get comfortable and just watch the game, see if I can find something or learn something watching.”

Despite being sidelined for the Red Wings’ final eight games of May, Wood was named International League (Triple-A) Player of the Month. He led the league with a .394 batting average, .506 on-base percentage, .746 slugging percentage and 1.252 OPS in May. Wood had a 12-game hitting streak from May 3-16, and he drew 17 walks against 13 strikeouts.

“It’s just cool,” Wood said. “I kind of feel like it’s a surprise. I had a week where I struggled a little bit. I got with Dauby [hitting coach Brian Daubach] and started working on a few things, and some of it clicked. It was good to see all of that click there.”

As the stats grow and awards accumulate, so does the buzz and speculation of Wood’s Major League debut. While it is projected for this season, Wood isn’t caught up in the future.

“I kind of just stay focused on right now; what I can control right now and each day,” Wood said. “I’m getting everything I can out of where I’m at right now.”