Nationals On Track to Make Franchise History After Jacob Young's Home Run vs. Cubs
In this story:
Jacob Young has found his power stroke this season, and that has been a huge boost for the Washington Nationals throughout the year.
On Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, Young hit a home run in the bottom of the second inning. That just happened to be homer No. 10 on the season for the center fielder, and it triggered some franchise history for this 2026 squad.
Per the team account, the Nationals now have four players -- James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Young -- with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases on the year. That ties them with the 2025 group -- Dylan Crews, Luis Garcia Jr., Abrams and Wood -- and the 2019 World Series-winning squad -- Adam Eaton, Victor Robles, Juan Soto and Trea Turner -- for the most players to reach those marks in a single season.
However, this current team could own that history for themselves by the end of the year.
Dylan Crews Has Chance to Get to 10 Home Runs, 10 Stolen Bases
After Young hit his 10th longball of the year, the next person who has a chance to get into the 10 home run, 10 stolen base club this season is Crews. He already has 10 blasts, so he just needs to steal three more bags since he has seven steals to his name, thus far.
It has not been a year to write home about for Crews. He began the season with Triple-A after he had a rough showing during spring training. The hope was that he would be able to reset in Rochester and become the type of hitter he was in the prep ranks and collegiately at LSU. But the former No. 2 overall pick has continued to struggle in the bigs, as he's slashing just .218/.292/.374 through 69 games this season.
Still, it would go a long way for him -- and likely this new regime -- if he were able to record three more steals to push this 2026 group into franchise history by themselves. That is certainly doable. Crews recorded 17 steals last year across 85 games. And he has not been caught a single time this season.
As for Young, him even getting to 10 home runs is notable. Before this year, he had only hit five total major league homers across 330 career games. So this added element has allowed him to become more of an everyday player in combination with his elite defense in center field.
All eyes are now on Crews to see if he can steal those three bags. If he does, then this 2026 team will have made some notable franchise history.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai