Yesterday was the Jacob Young game. The Nationals centerfielder made two insane catches to help the Nationals play a spoiler role. With that in mind, I wanted to talk about Young’s best catches of the season and how he provides value despite not really being able to hit.
There are four Jacob Young catches that stand out to me. Two of them were from yesterday, but we will get to those in a bit. First, let’s talk about his other insane robberies. Clearly, Young makes big plays in bunches because these
two catches were within a few weeks of each other.
His first great catch came at the start of July. Before that point, I was grumbling a bit about how Young’s defense had taken a step back in 2025. It was still very good, but not at the elite Gold Glove level we saw in 2024. However, since the start of July, he has returned to that elite level.
His catch against the Tigers is a great example of Young’s athleticism and coordination. Riley Greene smoked a ball to left-center field. Young had to get over to the wall in a hurry, which was no problem for him. However, there was still plenty of work to do. Young slightly mistimed his leap, but that was not a problem. He used his insane coordination to make an in-air adjustment to get the ball. Jacob Young had just made a magical catch.
My favorite thing about these Jacob Young catches is the Spiderman quality they have. His feel for his surroundings around the wall is world class. It is not just speed that helps him make these plays, there is also a beautiful acrobatic element.
His next robbery had even more of a Spiderman quality to it. Against the Reds, he climbed the wall like a super hero to rob a home run. This time, Young did not have to run as far, but he had to get up very high.
Will Benson hit a ball that was well over the wall. It was well over the fence, but thankfully, it still has to get down before a player catches it. Jacob Young was not going to let that home run happen. He pushed off the wall to get up as high as he could to make another insane catch.
That brings us to yesterday, where he made his two most iconic catches of the season that shook up the playoff race. If the Reds make the playoffs, Jacob Young will be a hero in Cincinnati. The catches he made were simply sensational.
His second insane catch of the afternoon was such a clutch play. It was 3-2 Nats in the bottom of the 9th and Francisco Alvarez came to the plate. Mitchell Parker was going for the save to stun the Mets. However, Alvarez smoked a 111 mph bullet out to left-center.
With the pace on the ball, Young had to be perfect with his jump and leap. There was no room for error. Young did not get it wrong and caught the line drive bullet that was headed out of the ballpark. It was not the craziest catch he made yesterday, but it was probably less likely to be caught if you looked at catch probability.
Most home run robberies come on high fly balls that give the fielder some time to get to the wall. However, that was not what happened here. That was what made the catch so jaw dropping. Young had no time to get his bearings.
However, I saved the best catch for last. This play went viral and had people looking at a baseball highlight during NFL Sunday. Jacob Young turned into Jacob Messi to make a jaw dropping play.
Brett Baty smoked a ball to straight away center field. It was not over the fence, but it required Young to leap on to the wall. He had the ball in his glove and it looked like he would make the play. However, the ball popped out. It looked like Baty had a triple at least.
Jacob Young had other plans though. He used his soccer skills to kick the dropping ball up and into his glove. Nobody could believe it. The crowd was stunned, Young was fired up and pitcher Jake Irvin couldn’t believe his eyes. Jacob Young had made a true circus catch.
Yesterday showed why Young has value despite his mostly non-existent bat. Unfortunately, the bat is probably not good enough for him to be a full-time starter, especially on a team that is already offensively challenged.
However, that glove will keep him around for a while. If the Nats wanted to trade him, there would certainly be takers. Honestly, his profile might be more valuable to a contender. A team with an elite top of the lineup could afford to have Young’s bat buried in the lineup.
Young still has plenty of value to the Nats though. He can be frustrating, but Jacob Young has an elite skill. Not many players on this team can say that. Yesterday, Jacob Young won a baseball game with his glove and showed why defense really matters.
