Young named Gold Glove Award finalist in first full MLB season

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.

According to FanGraphs, Young also led all NL center fielders with a 13.4 Defensive Rating and tied Doyle for the lead with 11 Defensive Runs Saved. Perkins (a former Nationals draft pick who played fewer innings than Young and Doyle) ranked sixth in DRS and eighth in Defensive Rating.

A seventh-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2021, Young represents a significant win for the Nationals’ scouting and player development departments, which had struggled for some time to produce quality big league players who weren’t initially regarded as top prospects. Young produced 2.6 bWAR this season, making him the Nats’ first non-first-round pick to exceed 2 WAR for them since Michael A. Taylor (a fifth-round pick in 2009).

Young’s emergence helped convince the Nationals it was time to cut ties with the enigmatic Robles in June (though Robles wound up playing well after joining the Mariners). It also helped convince club officials to deal Lane Thomas at the July trade deadline, knowing Young could man center field while top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews took over the corner positions.