In recent weeks, we have seen the youth movement of the Washington Nationals really begin to blossom at the big league level, with the promotions of guys like Daylen Lile and Robert Hassell provoke a spark to the lineup. The rebuild of the club, which fully began following the Juan Soto trade in 2022, has already seen guys like CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and James Wood all come to the big leagues, and more young stars are moving on up as well.
The Nationals continued their recent theme of rewarding some of their top draft picks and prospects with promotions in the system on Sunday afternoon, as their 1st round draft pick from 2024 has officially been moved up to AA Harrisburg. Seaver King, playing in his first full professional season following his selection as the 10th pick in the 2024 draft, will now be joining the Senators for the foreseeable future.
Since being selected last July, King was apart of the Fredericksburg Nationals team that won a Carolina League championship last season, and earned a promotion to High-A Wilmington to begin 2025. He struggled mightily out the gates, with a very high strikeout rate and a lack of power that had many Nationals fans beginning to worry online about his long-term outlook.
Well, following a steady improvement with the Blue Rocks, King will now prepare himself for the most difficult jump in the minors in terms of competition, as the jump from High-A to AA is notoriously known as a very treacherous one. However, given King's recent hot streak and improved performance, it's hard to say he hasn't earned this opportunity.
Despite a decent slash line of .263/.307/.380 which is good for .687 OPS, King earned the promotion in large part due to his home-road splits, which are much more favorable on the road than they are at home in Wilmington. The home of the Blue Rocks is truly a brutal place for hitters, and there's a reason why the only hitter who truly looked great at the level was Wood, who can hit no matter where he's playing.
For reference on King's splits, in 23 road games, he has a .305/.337/.463 slash line and .800 OPS, but had just a .214/.275/.286 line and .561 OPS at home in 22 games. King had also hit 2 of his 3 homers and driven in 13 of his 17 RBIs on the road as well, and the Nationals are clearly hoping that getting away from Wilmington will do wonders for his overall numbers.
He will still need to work on his approach, as for a guy who has truly elite speed on the bases, with 12 steals in 13 attempts, he only has 9 walks compared to 42 strikeouts on the season. You would ideally like to see King get on-base more, so that he can profile as a guy you'd like to have at the top of the order at the big league level.
As for King's long-term fit for the Nationals, it still remains to be seen, but he could be used as a super utility guy, given that he played shortstop, third base, second base, and all 3 outfield positions in college. He has played exclusively shortstop in the minors so far, but his versatility will give him an opportunity to continue to move quickly through the system, so long as his bat follows suit.
I am super excited for King, who has overcome his early-season struggles to earn a promotion to AA, and of course he will be worth keeping close tabs on as he begins his journey at the higher level.
Do you think Seaver King deserved to be promoted? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.