Jacob

Young

Young got a curveball over the plate from Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara and sent it 393-feet into the left-field seats in the second inning to put Washington ahead briefly. The 26-year-old center fielder has gone deep eight times in 59 games this season, with half of those coming in his last 15 games, after mustering only five round-trippers total in 280 games the previous two seasons combined.

Young left Monday’s game after being hit by a pitch and didn’t start last night, though he did play an inning of defense off the bench. He’s in center today.

The positive news here is that X-rays came back negative after Young was hit by a pitch in the ribs during Monday’s series opener. The 26-year-old center fielder is presumably day-to-day moving forward. It’ll be former top prospect Dylan Crews patrolling center field in his return to the majors on Tuesday night.

Young was drilled by a pitch near his left ribs and was in quite a bit of pain while leaving the field during the second inning of Monday’s series opener. He was replaced by pinch-runner Joey Wiemer. He’ll undergo X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

The 26-year-old outfielder got the Nats on the board in the second inning with a 390-foot (103.4 mph EV) solo shot off of Brandon Young. On the season, he’s now slashing .224/.275/.353 with five homers, 21 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 168 plate appearances.

Young hit his third homer of the season in the top of the first inning off Robbie Snelling to give the Nationals an early 3-0 lead. It would be the only hit of the night for Young, whose homer proved to be all the Nationals would need to down the Marlins in a game that turned into a pitchers’ duel over the final eight innings. Despite providing a key homer, Young remains well off the fantasy radar at this time.

Young returns to center field and hitting fifth following a brief one-game absence after being hit by a pitch on the left hand earlier this week. The 26-year-old speedster has gone 1-for-12 over his last three games to leave his batting average at .245 overall with two homers and one steal through 18 games. Dylan Crews is the club’s center fielder of the future, assuming he starts turning things around in the minors, but Young has done a nice job in the role for the past few years.

Young was hit by a pitch during Thursday’s game. Fortunately, additional testing revealed no structural damage and the 26-year-old outfielder should be able to return to action in a day or two. Joey Wiemer will draw a start in his place in center field and will bat fifth for the Nationals against Giants’ right-hander Logan Webb on Friday night.

Young was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning on Thursday that tied the game at 6-6. Butera noted that the ball glanced off of Young’s wrist and hit him on the left hand and that he was dealing with some bruising on his wrist and finger. He felt fine taking swings in the cages, but he’ll be re-evaluated on Friday and the Nationals will see how he’s feeling once the adrenaline wears off. For now, he’s considered day-to-day.

Young was back in the lineup for the first time since late February due to a right wrist contusion. He worked a pair of seven-pitch walks and also made a nice diving catch in center field. The 26-year-old center fielder appears likely to be ready for Opening Day but will need plenty of at-bats over the next week to get back up to speed.