The 2025 season did not go as planned for the Washington Nationals as a whole. That pretty much goes without saying at this point, as there are a number of different reasons why the Nationals are sitting at home on the couch and have been for the past few weeks since the regular season ended.
Fortunately for the Nationals, change is on the way ahead of the 2026 season, as they have officially hired a new President of Baseball Operations in Paul Toboni, who came over along with some rave reviews for his tenure with the Boston Red Sox. He has a tall task ahead of him in determining who the long-term building blocks of the team should be, and one of the tougher decisions he has to make will be concerning Jacob Young.
The outfielder just wrapped up his 2025 season with some pretty subpar numbers at the plate, but there is one main reason why his value to any big league club is very easy to see: his glove. Perhaps this offseason he will have the chance to trade in his black leather one for a Gold Glove, as he has been named a finalist for the second straight season.
The news was announced by the Nationals yesterday, and for Young, the nomination is extremely well-deserved, just as it was last year. The only difference between last year, when Young was robbed by Colorado Rockies' star outfielder Brenton Doyle for the award, is that Young might not actually be the most qualified candidate this year.
After Young recorded +20 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 2024, he recorded +14 this past season, but that number would rank as the 3rd out of the trio of finalists that were named on Wednesday. Victor Scott II of the St. Louis Cardinals and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs were the other two finalists named, and it appears as if the award will go to Crow-Armstrong at this point.
Scott recorded +17 OAA, while PCA recorded +24 OAA, which was the 2nd-highest in all of baseball regardless of position behind Bobby Witt Jr., according to an article from MLB.com that announced all of the finalists. Additionally, the article mentioned that PCA accounted for a +21 fielding run value, which was the 4th-highest value in all of baseball as well. To add the cherry on top, PCA also had the most Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) among qualified National League outfielders with 15.
The bottom line is Young is a very deserving finalist, as despite his struggles, he might very well be one of the most hated men in Queens due to the insane defensive plays he made in the Nationals' final series victory over the New York Mets that played a huge part in keeping them out of the playoffs. Additionally, Young might also be the most beloved non-Reds player in Cincinnatti, as those plays helped get the Reds into the playoffs.
Do you think Jacob Young should win the Gold Glove award? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.