The Washington Nationals have invested in the outfield in recent years. Elijah Green is one of the talented young outfield prospects. As the Nats’ 2022 first-round draft pick, the expectations are high on the 19-year-old. However, he has not played since June 28.
Green’s absence has been a mystery because the team had not explained it. Speculation grew, including concern over Green’s high strikeout rate. He struck out 69 times in his last 40 games. He hit a dismal .136/.227/.212 in 75 plate appearances during June with Single-A Fredericksburg.
It turns out Green had not been benched, but he is injured. According to the Nationals president and general manager Mike Rizzo, Green sprained his left wrist.
“We had it MRI’d, but it’s all clean, except for it was in a splint for about five to six days,” Rizzo said, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports. “So now he’s rehabbing it to return to play, and we’ll see him back in Fredericksburg soon.”
Green has not been placed on the injured list. Fredericksburg’s manager Jake Lowery recently said he’d hope to have Green back after the All-Star break. Fredericksburg has already played six games in the second half.
The Nationals are loaded with prospects in the outfield. James Wood, Robert Hassell II, Cristhian Vaquero, and Green are all in the Nats’ top-10 prospect listings. That doesn’t include this year’s first-round draft pick, Dylan Crews.
The fifth overall pick in last year’s draft, Elijah Green, has some time to develop into the power hitter he expects to become. However, there is a great deal of competition within the organization. Hopefully, he can shake his struggles when he returns to the field.
