Despite middling results, the Washington Nationals are promoting 2024 first round Pick Seaver King
Seaver King, the Washington Nationals 10th overall pick from the 2024 is getting promoted to Double-A Harrisburg. Given King’s pedestrian numbers, which we will go over, that may seem odd. However, there are good reasons why the Nationals are promoting King.
The Washington Nationals are promoting Seaver King to the Harrisburg Senators (AA). pic.twitter.com/Rzbch7R6q0
— Milb Central (@milb_central) June 2, 2025
Off the Board:
The Nationals took a risk when they went off the board to take King 10th overall. There were a number of players still on the board projected to be taken ahead of King, who was expected to go somewhere in the 15-25 range. Those players include top prospects such as Bryce Rainer and Braden Montgomery, as well as Cam Smith, who is already a fixture in the Astros lineup.
However, the Nationals really liked King’s elite athleticism and positional versatility. They also liked that King would take an under-slot deal. The Nats signed King for $5.15 million, well under the slot value of $5.95 million. This extra money allowed the Nationals to give Luke Dickerson a massive bonus in the second round.
Wilmington Woes:
However, Seaver King has not set the world ablaze at High-A in his first full season. He only has a .687 OPS on the season. King has been better in May, but a .729 OPS for the month is still nothing to write home about. So why would the Nationals promote him?
The answer to that question has everything to do with his home ball park in Wilmington. Frawley Stadium, where the Blue Rocks play is known as an extremely pitcher friendly ballpark. Over the past few years, the place has become something of a graveyard for Nationals hitting prospects. In the last few years, James Wood is the only guy I can remember who put up massive numbers there, because of course he did.
Like those before him, King has had major struggles in Wilmington. In home games, the Nationals first rounder is hitting just .214 with a .561 OPS. However, when he is freed from the shackles of Wilmington, he is batting .305 with a .800 OPS. It is a massive difference that the organization clearly took notice of. They wanted King out of Wilmington as quickly as possible.
Can he Handle Harrisburg:
While getting out of Wilmington should help King, he will face new challenges in Double-A. Many people say the jump from High-A to Double-A is the biggest in the Minors. Pitching is much more advanced and you start to see some older guys.
That jump could be tough for King. Despite being a top 10 pick out of college, there is still a lot of rawness in his game. He is not your traditional polished college hitter. King actually spent the first two years of his college career at division 2 school Wingate before transferring to Wake Forest. At Wake he put up good numbers, but was not the cream of the crop. You would think a top 10 pick could manage better than third team All-ACC.
However, King was taken due to his athleticism and upside. He is an elite athlete who is a plus runner. King is both twitchy and explosive, with plus run times and exit velocities. He can play a number of positions, but has settled in as a shortstop in pro ball.
However, his approach is a work in progress to say the least. He is only walking 4.6% of the time this season, which is a bit of a yellow flag. King’s free swinging ways will be exploited in Double-A. While he has been striking out less lately, there is also some swing and miss in King’s game too.
While Seaver King has very good exit velocities, he has not turned that into game power yet. Being in Wilmington has not helped, but he does only have three home runs. He is hitting the ball on the ground too much and has an opposite field heavy batted ball profile. Those things hurt your power production, unless you are an alien like James Wood.
Overall, King is a bit of an odd profile. Most top 10 college hitters are polished guys you can move to the big leagues quickly. King’s profile is more like a high school guy. He has elite athleticism, but has a lot of rawness in his game. It will take some time before he is big league ready.
I am interested to see how he does in Harrisburg. On one hand, he is out of Wilmington, where his home field cannibalized his offensive production. On the other hand, he is going to be facing much better pitchers in Double-A, who can exploit his rudimentary approach. It will be fascinating to follow his progress the rest of this season.