The 2023 season has seen a few Washington Nationals emerge as players with the potential to get this team to postseason contention in the future. This is what rebuilds are all about in finding those players who will be parts of the future. Lane Thomas and CJ Abrams are two of those special players. Both competing to get to the prestigious 20/20 Club, Thomas needed one more stolen base which he got last night. Abrams is still vying for membership if he can crush two more home runs.
“It’s one of those things where you look up, and you’re close to it. It’s not like you’re trying to do it. You just try to get a little bit better at the whole aspect of your game, and it happens. It’s really cool. A lot of these guys put me in the situation to do that stuff.”
— Thomas said after the accomplishment
In the club, Thomas joins Alfonso Soriano, Ian Desmond who has done it three times, and Bryce Harper as the only members. There will be more in that club as the Nats have prospects in the system that meet that power and speed profile. If Abrams makes it, he would need to hit two home runs in these final five games of the season on the road.
You will see that Thomas has a chance to go 30/20 if he clubs three more homers. That will not be an easy task, however, he has a good advisor in his wife who gave him sage advice last Tuesday — and then he crushed a grand slam the next day. A mindset at the plate does help.
“I got in the car last night and was kind of in a bad mood, and my wife was like: ‘Suck it up and stop swinging at those pitches!’ It was kind of surprising that came out of her mouth.”
— Lane Thomas in a discussion with his wife, Chase Henry Thomas after Tuesday’s game. On Wednesday he hit a grand slam.
By the way, the Nationals have never had a pair of teammates who have hit at least 18 home runs and stolen at least 20 bases until Thomas and Abrams accomplished that feat this year. That portends well on the future that this is a pair to build around, and with top prospects profiling similar power and speed tools are nearing the big leagues, the Nats’ future is indeed bright.
