Apr 20, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Jacob Young (30) reacts during the game against the Colorado Rockies in the at Coors Field. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Watch: Nationals Centerfielder Makes Insane Leaping Grab to Rob a Home Run

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Jacob Moss | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Much has been said about the rise of the Washington Nationals' young core so far this season, mainly because the stellar play from the team's talented group of youngsters has been the only real silver lining in what has become a lost season.

Guys like James Wood and CJ Abrams have been lighting things up at the plate, while the team's new stud Ace MacKenzie Gore has blossomed into a legit NL Cy Young candidate on the mound.

While these three names have caught most of the headlines for the Nationals, there has been another rising star playing surprisingly well for Washington this season in third-year centerfielder Jacob Young.

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The 25-year-old former seventh-round Nationals draft pick was superb in center field last season for the team, and he has carried over that stellar defensive play into the new campaign.

A rangy and athletic defender, Young has built a reputation for making incredible plays with his glove, and this was put on full display once more against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

Young was patrolling center in the ninth inning with Washington leading 9-4. Tigers' DH Riley Greene stepped into the box with one out and looking to give his guys a spark to light a potential last-inning comeback.

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Greene battled Nationals' closer Kyle Finnegan to a full count and proceeded to torch a ball deep out to center field. The ball looked all but destined to clear to the wall, and it would have if not for an incredible effort from Young.

JACOB YOUNG CATCHES FLIGHT pic.twitter.com/XARjSdpv4d
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 3, 2025

This leaping grab to rob a potential game-shifting home run left everybody in Nationals Park absolutely stunned, as Young essentially scaled a ten-foot wall like it was nothing to make one of the best grabs from any outfielder so far this season.

It's this freakish athleticism that has given Washington so much comfort in their defense up the middle, and Young also isn't too shabby with the bat in his hands either.

As of this writing, he currently holds a decent .255/.326/.311 slash line, and has been a demon on the base paths, nabbing nine stolen bags.

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Wood and Abrams may be the keystones of the future success the Nationals are building towards, but Young isn't too far below them on the totem pole either.

If Young can continue to improve at the plate, then that, coupled with his already elite skills with the glove, will make him a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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