Jacob Young had a weird season. He produced some of the coolest and most memorable plays in recent Nationals history. However, his season was also a bit of a let down. Young is one of the best in the sport patrolling center field, but his game became one dimensional this year.
Let’s start with the numbers. Offensively, Jacob Young took a step back in 2025. He was no offensive star in 2024, but he hit a solid .256 with a .647 OPS. Not great, but good enough given his defensive ability. In 2025, he only
hit .231 with a .583 OPS. Last season, Young posted 2.7 fWAR despite the lackluster offense. This year, that number fell to 1.0 fWAR.
The reason for that was his elite defense, but also elite baserunning. In 2024, Young was a very strong base runner. He stole 33 bases and posted 4.3 BsR, which helped him collect value. That was a very important part of his game and something he will need to get back to.
The base running was just not as good for Young in 2025. He only stole 15 bases while being caught a league leading 11 times. Young was just indecisive on the base paths. His jumps were poor and he was caught in between a lot. For the season, Young’s BsR was exactly 0. For a player of his archetype, that is unacceptable.
You can be a starting player with a below average bat, but you need to do a lot of things well. Young only did one thing well, and that was the defense. His bunting, base running and situational hitting all got worse in 2025. Those are things Young needs to do to get more than sporadic playing time.
However, his defense will always give him a spot in the MLB. Young is just an elite center fielder. Since 2024, Young has 34 OAA, which is truly awesome stuff. Just ask Mets fans about his defense, they can attest to it. He helped keep the big money Mets out of the playoffs with two insane plays.
The first one was an insane improvisational catch by Young. He went up to the wall to make a play. Young got his glove on it, but the ball was falling to the ground. While it was falling, Young kicked it to himself to make a crazy play.
In the 9th inning, Young struck again, robbing Francisco Alvarez of a homer. With the Mets missing the playoffs by a tiebreaker, these plays probably cost the Mets a chance at October baseball.
In the field, Young is such a dynamic playmaker and clearly deserves an MLB spot. He is simply more valuable than a guy like Robert Hassell because he has one elite skill. However, he is too one dimensional to be a full time starter in my opinion.
Next year, I think the Nats should roll with Wood, Crews and Lile in the outfield, with Young as the 4th guy. It would be a good role for him because he would be able to come into a lot of games as a defensive replacement.
If Young wants to get back to being a real part of this core, the offense needs to really improve, which feels unlikely and his base running needs to improve, which is more realistic. The 2024 version of Jacob Young was a pretty valuable player. He needs to get back to that because he was a one trick pony this year.
Season Grade: C-/D+
