Former Florida Gators standout outfielder [autotag]Jacob Young[/autotag] became the 82nd member of the Orange and Blue to play at the highest level of baseball on Saturday when he debuted for the Washington Nationals. He is now the 30th player that head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has sent to the majors from Gainesville.
The former seventh-round pick of the 2021 MLB draft (203rd overall) has spent the last couple of years working his way up the Nats’ organization, reaching Triple-A Rochester. There, he posted a .294 batting average along with a .471 slugging percentage and a .765 on-base plus slugging percentage, which despite the complete lack of walks earned him a trip to the big leagues.
In his first appearance, Young scored the game-tying run with two outs in the ninth inning in a pinch-running role. Washington went on to win the game, 3-2.
Over the course of his three-year career a the collegiate level, Young produced a slash line of .330 BA/.400 OBP/.447 OPS. He excelled out of the gates in the minors, scoring 118 runs — best in MiLB — in 2022 while batting .262/.360/.331 over 115 games.
The previous former Gator to debut in the big leagues was utility player Dalton Guthrie, who got his first cup of coffee last September with the Philadelphia Phillies after being taken in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB draft.
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