The offseason for the Washington Nationals has begun, and their new President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, has already been very hard at work. After announcing that the team would be kicking off their search for a new manager soon, it's safe to say that Toboni is going to have his hands full over the next couple of months.
Hopefully Toboni has a lot of coffee ready for the long hours he will be putting in this offseason, as part of his job is going to be to completely overhaul the player development system at all levels within the organization. After MacKenzie Gore made some comments talking about the team's overall frustration in feeling like their potential wasn't being maximized, Toboni echoed that sentiment in his introductory press conference.
The Arizona Fall League kicked off earlier this week, and one of the Nationals' top prospects in infielder Seaver King, made some pretty interesting comments after his breakout performance in his second game of the Fall season.
King, who started at shortstop in Game 2, recorded 3 hits, including a homer, and drove in 5 runs as he started alongside fellow infield prospect Kevin McGonigle from the Detroit Tigers, who acted as a bit of a tutor to King. Why is the inclusion of McGonigle relevant? It was the comments from King after the game that caught the attention of many Nationals fans on social media.
Per Jesse Borek from MLB.com, King said of his time with both High-A Wilmington and AA Harrisburg this past season, "I was trying to figure out the swing and everything else, but at the end of the day, like Kevin McGonigle told me: 'It's never the swing. It's always pitches and timing and all those things.' So he kind of simplified it for me today - and you know, it worked."
While this might seem like a compliment to McGonigle, who is ranked as highly as the #2 prospect in all of baseball according to some outlets, it also shows the complete lack of adjustments within the Nationals' system, and really makes you wonder what exactly they were teaching some of their youngsters.
The Nationals' system as a whole had by far the lowest walk rate in the minor leagues in 2025, and it seems as if the big league team's lack of approach was shared at the lower levels as well. The fact that King, who was a 1st-round pick not even 2 years ago seemingly learned more from a quick conversation with a fellow top prospect than he did in 2 seasons within the organization is a huge cause for concern, and showcases part of the big reason why Mike Rizzo was fired.
It's pretty likely that King meant no ill intent when talking about the impact that McGonigle made on him in that short sample size, but the fact that a very simple tweak was able to make such a quick impact on King could be the tip that allows him to live up to his draft status, which it didn't seem like was much of a sure thing even a few days ago. As Nationals fans, we should be excited about the new coaching staffs that will be put in place at all levels, and King's progress will be important to follow, as there is a very real chance he could end the 2026 season as the starting shortstop for the Nationals.
Only time will tell if this is an overreaction piece, but for now, we have to acknowledge that King's comments showcase the fact that the Nationals were in a bad place at the lower levels, and can only improve from here. I am excited to see how King continues to progress in the AFL, and if he can carry some positive momentum into next season.
There is a lot more to the story on why Rizzo was fired, which we will surely cover in the near future, but for now, it is easy to see why the Nationals had no choice but to almost entirely clean house this week at all levels. Toboni knows that this organization is in need of dire change, and he clearly means business in order to get things turned around.
What do you think of Seaver King's comments? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.