Jacob Young Fantasy Stats

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (wrist) got the start in center field and was in the two-hole for Monday's Grapefruit League game against the New York Mets. Young made his return to the spring lineup to begin the week for the first time since suffering a bruised right wrist back on Feb. 27. The 26-year-old now has a little under two weeks to get fully back up to speed for Opening Day at the end of the month. Young is projected to be Washington's primary center fielder in 2026 in his third full season in the big leagues. He stole over 30 bags in his first full major-league season in 2024, but he hit just three home runs and drove in 36 runs in 150 games played. Last year, Young had a career-low .231 batting average, just two home runs, 15 stolen bases, and was caught stealing a league-high 11 times. Speed and defense are what keep him in the lineup, but even in NL-only leagues, fantasy managers should have better offensive outfielders to target.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (wrist) started swinging in camp on Tuesday, according to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Young is still considered day-to-day with a right-wrist contusion, with the Nationals' goal of making sure he's 100% healthy for Opening Day later this month. The 26-year-old has only been able to play in one Grapefruit League game so far this spring because of his wrist injury. In his third MLB season with the Nats last year, Young played in 120 games (364 plate appearances) and hit .231/.296/.287 with a career-worst .583 OPS, only two home runs, 31 RBI, 34 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases. The former seventh-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Florida is a speedster on the base paths -- he stole a career-high 33 bags in 2024 -- and is excellent on defense, but his lack of power and unclear playing time situation put him outside of RotoBaller's top-100 fantasy outfielders going into the 2026 season.

Teams have expressed interest in trading for Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. However, it's unclear whether Washington has a desire to trade him at this time. Young, 26, is a plus defender in center field with four years remaining under team control. He made 112 appearances (901.1 innings) in the outfield last year and didn't commit a single error. While the glovework is impressive, defense can be tougher to project long-term, and the Nationals' new front office might feel less inclined to hold onto a glove-first outfielder from the previous regime. Young's offensive output is nothing special, as he slashed just .231/.296/.287 with two home runs, 15 stolen bases, a 7.4% walk rate, a 17.9% strikeout rate, and a 66 wRC+ last year. He finished the campaign with -14.5 fWAR at the plate, 12.2 fWAR in the field, and 1.0 fWAR overall. Rosenthal notes that the new front office believes the entire outfield can improve offensively and defensively under the new coaching staff, but he also hints at a potential outfield logjam with Robert Hassell III in the mix for a 26-man roster spot alongside Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, and James Wood. As a result, we wouldn't be surprised if Young becomes the odd man out.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (back) is returning to the lineup on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs. The center fielder will bat ninth in a meeting with left-hander Matthew Boyd. Young is making his first appearance since he left a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday with back spasms. While Young went 2-for-2 in that game, the glove-first 26-year-old hasn't contributed much offense this season. He's hitting a meek .235/.303/.287 with one homer, 26 RBI, 31 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 326 trips to the plate.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (back) is not in the lineup on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. Robert Hassell III will play center field and bat eighth in a meeting with right-hander Javier Assad. Young left a 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday with back spasms and didn't play on Wednesday. The Nationals were idle on Thursday, and Young will get another day off before a potential weekend return. The glove-first 26-year-old has played in 105 games this season and hit .235/.303/.287 with one homer, 26 RBI, 31 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 326 plate appearances.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (back) is not in the lineup on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins. Young went 2-for-2 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base in a 5-2 win over the Marlins on Tuesday, but he had to leave early with back spasms. The Nationals are idle on Thursday, so Young will get an extra day off to recover. The 26-year-old has played in 105 games this season and hit .235/.303/.387 with one homer, 26 RBI, 31 runs, and 14 steals in 326 plate appearances. Robert Hassell III will take Young's place in center field on Wednesday and bat seventh against right-hander Eury Perez.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (back) departed Tuesday's game early against the division-rival Miami Marlins due to back spasms, the team announced. The good news is that Young went 2-for-2 at the plate with an RBI, a run scored and his 14th stolen base of the year in the contest in D.C. before he was replaced in center field by Robert Hassell III. If Young's back spasms linger and require him to go on the 10-day injured list, Hassell would surely take over as the Nats' primary center fielder. Outside of modest stolen-base production, the 26-year-old Young hasn't been much of an asset in fantasy in 2025 in his third year in the big league. He entered Tuesday's game against Miami with only one home run, 25 RBI and a .230/.298/.282 slash line with a career-low .581 OPS in 104 games.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (finger) left the team's 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins early on Saturday with a bruised right index finger. Young departed after hurting his finger on a third-inning bunt attempt, but X-rays came back negative. The 26-year-old is considered day-to-day, so he may sit out Sunday's game. Alex Call replaced him in center field on Saturday. Young has gone homer-less over 250 plate appearances this year and batted just .245/.314/.291 with 18 RBI, 24 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. He's well behind last year's 33-steal pace.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young has been encouraged to keep attempting steals despite the lack of success, reports Mark Zuckerman of MASN. The speedster has been caught stealing in eight of his 13 attempts on the season, compared to being caught 10 times out of 43 attempts in 2024. Speed definitely isn't the issue, as the 25-year-old's 29.2 feet per second sprint speed ranks in the 94th percentile. One issue he has dealt with recently is losing the grip on the bag and over-sliding, turning stolen bases into free outs for the defense. It's encouraging to see the Nationals still pushing him to run, and he could be a fringe option in deep five-outfielder leagues once he does start finding success on the basepaths again.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young won't be in Thursday's lineup for his team's final game of their series against the New York Mets. Teammate Robert Hassell III is operating center field in his stead and batting ninth. The Florida native will take a seat with right-handed pitcher Kodai Senga taking the mound for New York. With a .209 (19-for-91) average thus far against righties, Young has been relegated to the short side of the platoon. Since returning from the injured list last week, he's started all three games when a left-handed hurler ran out to the mound. The 25-year-old is slashing a dreary .237/.313/.288 through 118 at-bats on the season.