With the most runs in all of baseball, the Nats have had a lot of offensive success stories this season. You could argue that Jacob Young made the biggest transformation out of anyone though. The defensive minded center fielder entered the season with just 5 career homers despite having near everyday reps the last two seasons. This year he has already hit double digits after a 427 foot bomb last night.
This offseason, adding power was a real focus for Young. He went to Driveline to improve his bat path and exit velocities. Between that instruction and the work by the Nats hitting coaches, Young has made tremendous strides at the plate while maintaining his elite defense. His OPS has gone from .583 to .719 thanks mostly to slugging. Young’s OBP is only up 16 points, but his slugging percentage has increased a whopping 120 points.
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After yesterday’s game I asked Young if reaching double figures in home runs was a goal for him. Young said that was not really a goal he was looking at. Instead, he said he was working on “The internal goals of getting the ball in the air more, hitting it harder and chasing less. The home runs are just a byproduct of that”.
This is the ultimate Toboni era answer, at least in my opinion. Part of what the new regime is trying to instill is a process driven mindset. With the energetic Jacob Young, they have an eager Guinea Pig. The Nats center fielder is always looking to get better. Last season it was his infamous muscle gain before the season. However, with the new regime, he is now being led in the right direction.
On the broadcast Dan Kolko said something revealing after Young hit his home run. He said that Young reaching double digits in the home run column was “Pretty awesome for a guy who was told to hit the ball on the ground quite a bit”. This was pretty clearly a dig at the old regime who wanted Young to be a more prototypical slap hitter.
The data also backs up Kolko’s claim. Young’s average launch angle has risen from 3.8 degrees to 11 degrees. That means he is trying to lift the ball more and is up to do damage rather than slap ground balls. The steeper bat path has predictably lowered his ground ball rate significantly. In 2024 and 2025, Young had an identical 56.5% ground ball rate. Among qualified hitters, Young had the 7th highest ground ball rate last year, and that appears to be by design.
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This season, that number has dropped to 40.6%, a nearly 16 point dip. Young is actually hitting the ball on the ground slightly less than the average hitter. A lot of Nats players have seen a dip in ground ball rate this year under hitting coach Matt Borgschulte. However, nobody has evolved as drastically as Young.
While Young is having a breakout offensive season, it has not been a totally linear progression. The Nats center fielder looked like his normal light hitting self through April, even if he had already hit two homers matching his 2025 total. However, the changes he made really seemed to click in May. He shockingly hit 5 homers that month and by May 20th, he had more homers in the 2026 season than he had his entire career before this year.
However, Young took a major step back at the plate in June, hitting just .186 with one homer. Young said the big problem that month was the fact he was chasing too much. The staff showed him the alarming data and talked to him about his approach right before the All-Star Break.
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Something must have clicked during that conversation because since the break, Young is hitting .352 with a 1.057 OPS. Plate discipline has played a massive role in that with the 27 year old walking more than he is striking out in that time.
For the season, Young has been roughly a league average hitter with a 98 wRC+. That is more than enough for him to be an impactful starter though. In the field, Young is as good as ever, registering 12 outs above average in center. He has also been a better baserunner this year after being weirdly bad on the bases last year.
Young is 13 for 16 on steals this year. That is a major improvement on his abysmal 15 for 26 mark from 2025. His overall base running IQ has also been noticeably better this year. It is just another area where the former Florida Gator racks up value.
Overall, Jacob Young has been highly impactful for the Nats. He has 2.2 fWAR this season, which is actually tied for third on the team with the departed Luis Garcia. Young is ahead of names like Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews and Keibert Ruiz.
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With the offensive strides Young has made this season, he has turned into such a nice player. When you look at the Nats outfield, there are guys with more pedigree and more offensive upside. However, you cannot forget about Jacob Young because he has proven to be able to produce in multiple different ways.
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