Jacob Young’s breakout power has done more than give the Nationals a lift this season - it has put them in position to make a little franchise history.
Young went deep Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, launching a home run in the bottom of the second inning. It was his 10th homer of the season, and it pushed Washington into a rare spot: the Nationals now have four players - James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and Young - who have reached both 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases this year.
That matches the 2025 Nationals, with Dylan Crews, Luis Garcia Jr., Abrams and Wood, and the 2019 World Series-winning club, with Adam Eaton, Victor Robles, Juan Soto and Trea Turner, for the most players in a single season to hit those marks.
The current group can still stand alone by the end of the year, though, and Crews is the one who can make it happen next. He already has 10 home runs, so he needs three more steals to join the club, and he has seven stolen bases so far.
It’s been a tough season for Crews. He opened the year in Triple-A after a rough spring, with the goal of resetting in Rochester and getting back to the hitter he was at LSU and in the prep ranks. Instead, the former No. 2 overall pick has kept scuffling in the majors, where he is hitting .218/.292/.374 through 69 games.
Even so, the path to history is right there. Crews swiped 17 bags last year in 85 games, and he has not been caught stealing once this season. Three more steals would give this 2026 Nationals team a record all its own.
Young’s own climb to 10 homers deserves its own spotlight, too. Before this season, he had only five career major league home runs in 330 games. The extra pop has given him another way to impact games, alongside the elite defense that has kept him in the center-field mix every day.
Now the attention shifts to Crews, and whether he can turn those next three steals into a line in the franchise record book.
In Other News...
Nationals Suddenly Need A Rotation Answer After Jake Irvins Rough Night
After Jake Irvin was knocked around by the Cubs and lasted just over three innings on 88 pitches, the Nationals were forced to piece together the rest of the night with their bullpen. It was the kind of outing that can scramble a pitching plan in a hurry, especially for a club still trying to settle on a stable rotation mix and protect its relievers from overuse.
Now Washington has turned to Jackson Kent, a prospect being summoned from Triple-A Rochester for his first major league start. The move adds some immediate intrigue to the staff picture, and it also leaves one more roster decision hanging after the game, even as the Nationals try to reset quickly around a rotation spot that suddenly needs an answer. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Farm System Has Two Developments Fans Will Want To Track
The Nationals minor league calendar keeps turning, and there is plenty for fans to monitor across the system in the days ahead. Rochester, Harrisburg, Wilmington, Fredericksburg and the DSL Nationals all have new games and pitching matchups on the docket, giving the organization a fresh batch of innings to sort through as the season rolls on. Alongside the schedule updates, recent performances have offered a few bright spots, including the DSL Nationals 4-3 win over the DSL Angels and Coy James earning Carolina League Player of the Week honors.
There is also movement beyond the box scores, with roster decisions beginning to shape the depth chart from the farm all the way up to Washington. Jackson Kent is expected to move into the major league picture, and that kind of promotion always has a ripple effect on the lower levels. For a team still trying to keep tabs on who is rising, who is settling in and who might be next, these are the kinds of developments that can end up mattering well beyond one weekends schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospect Devin Fitz-Gerald Is Giving Their System New Life
The Nationals farm system has started to look a little healthier lately, and Devin Fitz-Gerald has been a big reason why. Acquired in the MacKenzie Gore trade, the 2024 fifth-round shortstop has moved steadily through Washingtons minors and earned a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg after playing well at High-A Wilmington, a sign that the organizations infield depth is producing more than just hope.
Fitz-Gerald is part of a broader wave of movement that has given the Nationals something to point to in the lower levels. Catcher Maxwell Romero Jr. has been bumped to Triple-A Rochester, while center fielder Yeremy Cabrera also showed real development at Wilmington, and those names together suggest Washington is finally seeing some traction from the kind of prospect pipeline it has needed to rebuild around. [Read more 🡒]