Young named Gold Glove finalist

After putting together one of the best defensive seasons in Major League Baseball this season, Nationals rookie outfielder Jacob Young was named one of three finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in center field on Tuesday.

Young, 25, led all of Major League Baseball across all positions with 18 runs prevented and was tied for the Major League-lead with 20 outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. Both were the most in a season by any outfielder since 2019.  Among center fielders, Young had four more runs prevented and four more outs above average than his second-place counterpart.

Young also led all MLB outfielders with 15 outs on balls at a 25-50 percent catch probability and was tied for the Major League-lead with seven catches made with a 0-25 percent catch probability.

The speedy outfielder tied the quickest reaction time (feet covered in the first 1.5 seconds of opportunity) in the Statcast era (2016-pres.), matching Enrique Hernández’s mark of 4.7 feet from 2021. The next closest outfielder in 2024 produced just 2.4 feet.

According to FanGraphs, Young also led all National League center fielders (min. 1000.0 innings) in defensive rating with a 13.4 and was tied for the lead with 11 defensive runs saved.

Young looks to become just the 18^th rookie in the 67-year history of the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards to be named a recipient and just the seventh to win as an outfielder.

Young would also be the first Nationals outfielder and third National player (2005-pres.) overall to win a Gold Glove, joining Ryan Zimmerman (3B, 2009) and Adam LaRoche (1B, 2012).

Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 3 on ESPN beginning at 8:30 p.m.