89% season-shape match
Why he matters right now
James Wood is top-10 in the majors in runs
He is 2nd in runs at 100 — placements on MLB's own season boards, which rank every QUALIFIED hitter in the sport rather than the few dozen this site tracks. Qualified is MLB's own bar, and it is the reason a part-season player with a big number is not on these boards at all.
The story changed tonight — this page led with a different case yesterday.
The case in 30 seconds
- 100 2nd in runs at 100 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- OPS .924 — 3rd of 49 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
- 95.2 mph average exit velocity 95.2 mph over 291 batted-ball events — 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters Statcast 2026 hardest-hit leaderboard (single season, top 10 only — not a league-wide ranking)
- 100 100 runs, past his previous best of 87 in 2025 year-by-year record, 2 prior seasons since 2024 (MLB Stats API, cached)
- Average exit velocity95.2mph
- Hard-hit rate58.1%
- Barrel rate20.6%
- Max exit velocity116.3mph
This season only, 291 batted-ball events. Ranked 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters — that is a top-of-the-league board, not a league-wide ranking.
The honest caveat
It is still a partial season — 539 plate appearances so far. A rate moves fastest against the strongest arms a schedule has left, and the schedule ahead is not the schedule behind.
What to watch next
20 more to reach 120 RUNS.
Every claim above, with its source (4)
- 2nd in runs at 100 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- OPS .924 — 3rd of 49 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
- average exit velocity 95.2 mph over 291 batted-ball events — 2nd on a 10-deep board of the season's hardest hitters Statcast 2026 hardest-hit leaderboard (single season, top 10 only — not a league-wide ranking)
- 100 runs, past his previous best of 87 in 2025 year-by-year record, 2 prior seasons since 2024 (MLB Stats API, cached)
Other cases this page considered and did not lead with: James Wood sits 3rd in OPS among 49 qualified hitters on this site's tracked board; James Wood is on the season's hardest-contact board; James Wood has already passed his career best in runs.
The evidence
Tracked on Live Chases
- 58-1 Runs Significant · WATCH No. 2 of 3runs chases 100 record 177 — Babe Ruth, 1921 115projected, against 120 · near pace
The score is an editorial score, not a measurement on a common scale. The rank above is this player's position on his own category's board — the ordering the site stands behind. See all tracked chases →
What changed last night
1-for-4
W 9-5 vs Atlanta Braves · 2026-09-01
carries a .265 average into today
Situational splits
| Split | AB | AVG | HR | RBI | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 282 | .273 | 21 | 50 | .978 |
| vs LHP | 159 | .252 | 9 | 23 | .823 |
| Home | 222 | .293 | 20 | 40 | 1.043 |
| Away | 219 | .237 | 10 | 33 | .804 |
| Day | 190 | .242 | 15 | 28 | .914 |
| Night | 251 | .283 | 15 | 45 | .933 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
115G
441AB
117H
.265AVG
30HR
73RBI
17SB
262B
13B
.924OPS
Chasing .400
.265Current AVG
100Consecutive hits needed to reach .400
100-for-100Needed over next 100 AB
1.303Rest-of-season AVG to finish .400 (86-for-66)
Status: IMPOSSIBLE
Milestone tracker
| Chase | Target | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .350 AVG | .350 | .265 | .265 | .924 ROS | EXTREME |
| .380 AVG | .380 | .265 | .265 | 1.152 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .400 AVG | .400 | .265 | .265 | 1.303 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .406 AVG | .406 | .265 | .265 | 1.348 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .466 AVG | .466 | .265 | .265 | 1.818 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 50 HR | 50 | 30 | 34 | 20 in 21 g · 1 per 3.3 AB | EXTREME |
| 60 HR | 60 | 30 | 34 | 30 in 21 g · 1 per 2.2 AB | EXTREME |
| 62 HR | 62 | 30 | 34 | 32 in 21 g · 1 per 2.1 AB | EXTREME |
| 70 HR | 70 | 30 | 34 | 40 in 21 g · 1 per 1.6 AB | EXTREME |
| 73 HR | 73 | 30 | 34 | 43 in 21 g · 1 per 1.5 AB | EXTREME |
| 200 Hits | 200 | 117 | 134 | 83 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 225 Hits | 225 | 117 | 134 | 108 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 250 Hits | 250 | 117 | 134 | 133 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 262 Hits | 262 | 117 | 134 | 145 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 50 SB | 50 | 17 | 20 | 33 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 80 SB | 80 | 17 | 20 | 63 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 100 SB | 100 | 17 | 20 | 83 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 130 SB | 130 | 17 | 20 | 113 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 50 2B | 50 | 26 | 30 | 24 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 60 2B | 60 | 26 | 30 | 34 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 67 2B | 67 | 26 | 30 | 41 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 20 3B | 20 | 1 | 1 | 19 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 25 3B | 25 | 1 | 1 | 24 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 36 3B | 36 | 1 | 1 | 35 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 125 RBI | 125 | 73 | 84 | 52 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 150 RBI | 150 | 73 | 84 | 77 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 175 RBI | 175 | 73 | 84 | 102 in 21 g | EXTREME |
| 191 RBI | 191 | 73 | 84 | 118 in 21 g | EXTREME |
How likely is the finish?
0%finishes with 40+ home runs
0%finishes with 50+ home runs
0%finishes with 60+ home runs
His rate of 55.660 home runs per 1,000 plate appearances is read as 50.440 after regressing toward the league's 30.360 — a leaderboard selects for players who have outperformed, so an unregressed rate projected forward overstates every one of them. That puts the expected finish at 33.3, against a straight team-game pace of 34. Exact beta-binomial over 80 remaining plate appearances, averaged across playing-time scenarios. Calibrated against Retrosheet finishes: within 7 points of observed frequency in every band, and within 2 in three of five. It is a model, not a measurement.
Home run pace vs the benchmark seasons
1.7%of comparable chases reached 40 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 50 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 60 HR
Empirical: seasons within ±2 HR of his total at the same team-game checkpoint (n=665); median finish 33. Retrosheet.
Recent game log
Derived nightly from the snapshot ledger — each row is the difference between consecutive days; multi-day rows are labeled.
| Date | Opp | Result | AB | H | HR | RBI | R | SB | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | Atlanta Braves | W 9-5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 |
| 2026-08-03 | Philadelphia Phillies | L 3-6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 |
| 2026-08-02 | Atlanta Braves | L 2-4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .266 |
| 2026-08-01 | Atlanta Braves | L 3-8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .267 |
| 2026-07-31 | Atlanta Braves | L 2-6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .269 |
| 2026-07-30 | Atlanta Braves | L 4-5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .270 |
| 2026-07-29 | Toronto Blue Jays | L 2-5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .271 |
| 2026-07-28 | Toronto Blue Jays | W 8-6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .269 |
| 2026-07-27 | Toronto Blue Jays | L 2-3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .272 |
| 2026-07-26 | Arizona Diamondbacks | W 10-7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .271 |
Recent highlights
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Through 141 team games; 60 in 2001