Washington Nationals Outfielder Not 'Comfortable' With His Place on Team

Despite having a solid year in 2024, one Washington Nationals outfielder knows he has to keep improving if he wants to be a featured part of this team.

Feb 22, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA;Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young (30) scores on a sacrifice fly in the third inning against the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals hope they have the outfield of their future standing in the grass on Opening Day.

With James Wood and Dylan Crews in the corners, that duo could be the faces of the franchise for the next decade-plus.

But it's the center field spot that draws some concern.

There's no doubt Jacob Young is an elite defender.

Per Baseball Savant, his 19 Outs Above Average were the best among all Major League outfielders. His defensive bWAR was 1.7 and he's made just nine errors in 485 total chances across his 181 games and 1534.2 innings in The Show.

However, the bat leaves much to be desired.

For all the pluses Young brings when standing in the field, it's the opposite when he's standing in the batter's box.

His OPS+ and wRC+ figures were 15 points below the league average of 100 in 2024. His career hard hit percentage is 7.3% below the league average of 36.5%, and his barrel rate is a staggering 5.7% off the 7% mark that Major League hitters have.

It's an issue, and something that could affect his long-term outlook if he doesn't figure it out.

While the defense of Young is great to have, not getting offensive production from him would almost assuredly reduce him to a bench role at some point if he can't generate better numbers at the plate.

Young knows this, and that's why he has some reservations regarding where he stands on this team despite the incredible defensive campaign he just put together.

"But I think with how young [the team is] and how much great competition is behind you, I don't think it’s ever good to get comfortable on teams like this. There's always people champing at the bit. I know there's a lot of things that we all want to see me improve on anyways on the offensive side," he said per Andrew Golden of The Washington Post.

That's become even more true with the emergence of star prospect Robert Hassell III this spring.

Once seen as a future franchise cornerstone of his own, injuries held him back from getting called up to the bigs, allowing Young to jump him in the pecking order.

But things change, and with the Nationals trying to get a better sense of what they have throughout the organization, this is the year where players have to perform to prove they should have a spot on this roster going forward.

For Young, it's simple.

If he hits, he can be one of the best outfielders in the entire sport when taking into account his defense and he'll be an everyday player.

If he doesn't, then his future is murky.

Producing at the plate is easier said than done, but if Young struggles again offensively, he could see his time start getting reduced over the course of the long season.