Jacob Young

Jacob Young

26-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Washington Nationals
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Young's speed and defense will keep him on a major league roster for the forseeable future, but his ability to start for a major league team will be limited by just how comfortable the club is carrying such an empty bat. Young flies on the bases, maybe even too much because he has been caught 21 times in his last 48 attempts. He has as many bunts for base hits (18) as he does double plays over the plast two seasons. However, his complete lack of power has likely put him into a Miles Straw-like role for the rebuilding Nationals who have younger players with more upside than what Young has shown in his big league career. Young could absolutely reclaim a starting role with the Nationals, but it is more likely that he gets worked in against tougher lefties or provides days off unless one of the younger and more talented outfielders in front of him falls into a massive slump. It is tough to slap a one-category label on a player who has been caught far to often using that one skill. There is also the factor of new manager Blake Butera, who may not be as aggressive with the running game as his predecessor Dave Martinez was leading the club. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#412
ADP
Signed a one-year contract with the Nationals in March of 2026.
Taking seat Monday
OFWashington Nationals
June 8, 2026
Young is not in the lineup for Monday's game in San Francisco.
Analysis
The Nationals will go with Dylan Crews in center field and James Wood in right field for the series opener. Young has had a power breakout this season with eight homer runs, though his .232/.284/.389 batting line remains lacking.
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Batting Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
2023
2026 MLB Game Log
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2025 MLB Game Log
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2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
7
12
5
12
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
6
2
7
1
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+6%
OPS vs LHP
2026
 
 
+1%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
+1%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+10%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024vs Left .657 327 49 2 21 20 .257 .325 .332
Since 2024vs Right .621 777 87 11 73 33 .238 .294 .327
2026vs Left .681 64 7 1 5 0 .241 .302 .379
2026vs Right .671 155 20 7 22 5 .228 .277 .393
2025vs Left .586 103 12 0 3 5 .225 .317 .270
2025vs Right .581 261 22 2 28 10 .234 .287 .294
2024vs Left .691 160 30 1 13 15 .283 .340 .352
2024vs Right .628 361 45 2 23 18 .245 .306 .322
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Minor League Splits View Minor League Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2024
 
 
+3%
OPS at Home
2026
 
 
+9%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
+2%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+1%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2024Home .642 529 57 8 46 17 .247 .306 .335
Since 2024Away .623 575 79 5 48 36 .239 .300 .322
2026Home .703 106 12 4 15 1 .255 .305 .398
2026Away .646 113 15 4 12 4 .210 .265 .381
2025Home .588 166 14 1 15 4 .238 .290 .298
2025Away .578 198 20 1 16 11 .225 .301 .277
2024Home .651 257 31 3 16 12 .250 .317 .333
2024Away .645 264 44 0 20 21 .263 .315 .329
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Stat Review
How does Jacob Young compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.28
 
BB Rate
5.0%
 
K Rate
17.8%
 
BABIP
.250
 
ISO
.158
 
AVG
.232
 
OBP
.284
 
SLG
.389
 
OPS
.674
 
wOBA
.298
 
Exit Velocity
88.7 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
26.1%
 
Barrels/PA
3.7%
 
Expected BA
.268
 
Expected SLG
.404
 
Sprint Speed
25.1 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
38.9%
 
Line Drive %
21.0%
 
Fly Ball %
40.1%
 
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jacob Young See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jacob Young See More
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2025
2024
Young is a flawed player, but he's already a success story as a seventh-round draft pick by the Nationals in 2021. He got the call early last season when Victor Robles hit the injured list and never gave the center-field job back. Speed is his greatest asset and he used it to swipe 33 bags as a rookie, though he was also caught 10 times. The big problem is the minimal power, with Young managing just three home runs in 521 plate appearances last season. His offensive game is built around putting the ball in play -- often via the bunt -- and booking it down the line while looking to take the extra base. He was below average at the plate last season, but to justify a regular role in the Washington lineup he just has to do enough as a nine-hole hitter to complement his excellent defense in center.
Young played in 33 games down the stretch after making his MLB debut for the Nationals in late August, and he had a .252/.322/.336 slash line with no homers, 13 steals, 12 RBI and nine runs in 121 plate appearances. It was a solid showing for the 2021 seventh-round pick, especially since he entered the season having never played above Single-A. He split most of the minor-league campaign between the High-A and Double-A levels, and overall he hit .305 with six home runs and 39 steals in 112 contests. The speed and contact skills (18.2 percent strikeout rate) were apparent in his first taste of the majors, as was his limited power. Young will likely need a strong showing during spring training to have a chance of making Washington's Opening Day roster in 2024, and even then he could still begin the campaign at Triple-A Rochester given he basically skipped the affiliate last year.
More Fantasy News
Riding pine Friday
OFWashington Nationals
June 5, 2026
Young isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Analysis
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Pops eighth homer
OFWashington Nationals
June 2, 2026
Young went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's loss to the Marlins.
Analysis
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On bench Saturday
OFWashington Nationals
May 30, 2026
Young isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego.
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Surprising power surge continues
OFWashington Nationals
May 26, 2026
Young went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Monday's win over the Guardians.
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Not starting Saturday
OFWashington Nationals
May 23, 2026
Young isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Atlanta.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Next up to be dealt?
OFWashington Nationals
January 22, 2026
Several teams have shown an interest in trading for Young this offseason, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Analysis
The Nationals dealt MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers on Thursday, and Rosenthal suggests another significant move could be on the way. Young's primary appeal is his defensive prowess in the outfield, as he racked up 14 outs above average and 12 defensive runs saved playing center field in 2025. If Young is dealt, Robert Hassell would have a clearer path to playing time for Washington.
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