ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Hit over .350 in Triple-A baseball, and your path to the majors should be a short one. That’s what James Wood has done this season in Rochester, but an injury last month put the outfielder on the shelf.  

Now, he’s back.

Wood, one of Major League Baseball’s top-five prospects, recently spent a few weeks on the sidelines recovering from a hamstring injury. Speaking toward the end of his recovery, Wood, an outfielder for the Rochester Red Wings, didn’t let that get him down.

“It's going good,” he said. “I mean, everything feels good. I feel like I've been able to do everything without any issues.”

Wood was removed from the injured list and returned to the field on Tuesday against Syracuse, going 0-for-2 at the plate with a walk. Before the injury, Wood — the top prospect in the Washington Nationals organization — was on a tear. He was named International League Player of the Month, despite missing the last week of May.

“It's pretty cool,” he said of the award. “I mean, I felt like early in the month I’d been working on a couple of things, and so we were able to get some of the things to click into the game.”

Wood comes from an athletic family. His father, Kenny, played college basketball at Richmond. His uncle and sister also played college ball.   Wood chose baseball over basketball in high school. Now 21, he has adjusted quickly during each stop — and step up — in the minor leagues. 

“I just think a lot of the pitchers are a lot more refined,” he said of the biggest difference between AAA and the other minor leagues. “They’ve got a lot more experience. So I just feel like they're a lot better executing their plan. So I kind of got to be more sharp going up there too, and just prepare.”

Wood was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres. He was sent to Washington as part of the Padres’ trade for Juan Soto, who now stars for the New York Yankees.

Enjoy James Wood at a ballpark near you while you can — he’s not expected to stay in the minors for long.

“I just sort of focus on what is going on here and what I can control here,” he said. “And so I just go out there and play.”