Washington Nationals Outfielder Among the Best Rookies in Baseball

The Washington Nationals have one of the best rookies in baseball patroling center field for them this season.

Aug 25, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Jacob Young (30) reacts after scoring a run against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Truist Park. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

As we head into September, the Washington Nationals have become a fun team to watch, as their young prospects are starting to perform at the big league level. 

The Nationals decided to go into a rebuilding process not too long ago after seeing some of their big stars requiring new contracts that were too steep. Instead of paying big contracts, Washington elected to trade a lot of their players to restock the farm system. 

So far, the Nationals have built one of the best farm systems in baseball and, after some tough years on the field, Washington is becoming exciting to watch once again. The Nationals have a ton of young talent on the team currently, especially now with recent call-ups James Wood and Dylan Crews. 

While those two are two of the biggest names in terms of prospects, Washington has other talented young players, one of which is Jacob Young. 

Joel Rueter of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the impact Young has had on the Nationals, as he ranked him as the 17th best rookie in 2024. 

“Chicago Cubs rookie Pete Crow-Armstrong has received plenty of hype thanks to his highlight-reel defense and top-of-the-scale speed, but Young has essentially the same toolbox and has been the far more productive rookie. His 12 Defensive Runs Saved rank fifth among all outfielders and his 30 steals are good for fourth on the NL leaderboard.”

Young being ranked so highly is great to see for the Nationals and is well-deserved. While Young might be flying under the radar in terms of his prospect ranking in the organization, he is already producing well at the major league level. 

In his first full season, Young is batting .258 with 25 extra base-hits, three of which were home runs. However, where he really shines is on the base paths and on the field. Young is playing a strong defensive center field for the Nationals, and has totaled 31 stolen bases this season. 

While Young isn’t going to be a big power hitter in the majors, he is proving that he can be an excellent fielder and stolen base threat. This will give the Nationals flexibility if they want to eventually have him either at the top of the order or rounding out the bottom to set the table for the top of the lineup. 

The development of Young this season is one of the reasons why the Nationals are going to be a team to watch in 2025, and he is certainly deserving of being named one of the top rookies this season.