Jacob Young is a Gold Glove Award finalist after his first full season in the big leagues, and the rookie center fielder stands a good chance of becoming the Nationals’ first winner of the award in a dozen years.
Young was officially named a finalist today, confirming he finished among the top three among all National League center fielders along with the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle and the Brewers’ Blake Perkins. Voting among NL managers and coaches already took place in late September, which accounts for 75 percent of the final tally. The remaining 25 percent is determined by a statistical component. Winners will be announced Nov. 3.
The Nats have had only two Gold Glove winners in their two decades in D.C.: third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in 2009 and first baseman Adam LaRoche in 2012. Young is well positioned to join that group and become the club’s first outfielder to be honored for defensive excellence.
The 25-year-old debuted late in the 2023 season and showed off some of his skills down the stretch. He actually didn’t make the Opening Day roster this season but was quickly recalled from Triple-A Rochester when Victor Robles suffered a hamstring injury. He wound up taking over the starting center field job and never gave it up, impacting several organizational decisions regarding other, longer-tenured players.
According to Baseball Savant, Young finished the season with 20 Outs Above Average, tied with Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez for most among all major leaguers, regardless of position. His 18 Runs Prevented led all big leaguers and represented the highest number posted in that statistical category since 2019.