Follow the Prospects: Seaver King, SS

[aspenbubba]

Final month of the season this year (11 games): .341 / .378  /.439. Seems odd to call 22 year-olds with just over one year of minor league experience a "bust".

We shall see. I would love to be wrong for a change. Didn't brother Slate call that stat padding?

[varoadking]

Final month of the season this year (11 games): .341 / .378  /.439. Seems odd to call 22 year-olds with just over one year of minor league experience a "bust".

Seems odd to always look for a small sample size that bucks the norm...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

truth is, with just one full season  since being drafted, he's got 3 years before a decision has to be made.

[imref]

Seems odd to always look for a small sample size that bucks the norm...

you mean like barely more than a year of pro ball?

[aspenbubba]

you mean like barely more than a year of pro ball?

He played 3 seasons of collegiate ball plus the Cape Cod league and others. He has used a wood bat. He just is not a good selection for a first rounder never mind in the top ten.
 

[imref]

He played 3 seasons of collegiate ball plus the Cape Cod league and others. He has used a wood bat. He just is not a good selection for a first rounder never mind in the top ten.
 

did pretty well in those leagues.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=king--000sea

Bleacher report noted before the draft:

King proved himself this spring against better competition after transferring from D-II Wingate University, and he also hit .424/.479/.542 over 71 plate appearances in the Cape Cod League last summer.

[aspenbubba]

As I said I don’t think he will make the show. He is another Darren Baker.

[RD]

As I said I don’t think he will make the show. He is another Darren Baker.

Maybe. Maybe he is just a utility guy. But if Baker had King's physical ability, Baker is a big leaguer. King is better across the board physically. Bigger, stronger, more athletic, a better arm. His arm doesnt prevent him from the left side of the infield, like Baker's did. You can debate how much power King will have, but hes undoubtedly got a lot more than Baker. Baker hit 7 bombs in 1700 minor league AB's. King has 6 in 583.

Its definitely disappointing to see other guys take off and perform already. There were definitely more upside guys available on draft day. But giving up on a guy after one full season in the minors is a bit premature.

[varoadking]

There were definitely more upside guys available on draft day...

I think this is pretty much what Bubba and I are getting at.  At least Rizzo didn't waste a #2 overall pick on him too...this one was just a #10...

[imref]

Unloaded last night. 3-5, 2B, HR, 5 RBIs

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Let's see him keep it up. If he has a good AFL, then it's worth figuring  out if  there was some sort  of change he adopted or was working on that clicked late in the year. RD as always is the voice of reason

[imref]

Longenhagen was asked on his chat yesterday about King, here's his response:

He’s going to be an interesting one. Scout here already recognize the tools and athleticism, he hit the Charro Lodge the other day. I’ve had guys suggesting this and that fix to his swing to get him going… I know he had a rough year but I don’t think he should be dismissed so quickly.

The lodge is a restaurant in the stadium, i assume he means he hit it with his HR.

[nobleisthyname]

Age: 22
Team rank: 7
Current level: AA

September recap

PA

|

AVG

|

OBP

|

SLG

|

HR

|

SB

|

K%

|

BB%

|

ISO

|

OPS

|

wRC+

46

|

.341

|

.378

|

.439

|

0

|

5

|

21.7%

|

6.5%

|

.098

|

.817

|

138

Season recap (2 levels)
Games played at position
SS: 122
DH: 3

PA

|

AVG

|

OBP

|

SLG

|

HR

|

SB

|

K%

|

BB%

|

ISO

|

OPS

|

wRC+

551

|

.244

|

.294

|

.337

|

6

|

30

|

21.1%

|

5.8%

|

.093

|

.631

|

87

[imref]

1.159 OPS in 13 ABs so far in the AFL. 5-13, HR, 2B, SB

[nobleisthyname]

Between Seaver's September and AFL stats, we need to hire Kevin McGonigle as hitting coach.

[raleighnat]

4-6 with 3 doubles today

[imref]

4-6 with 3 doubles today

well, since he didn't go 6-6 he's a bust.

[Slateman]

4-6 with 3 doubles today

[Smithian]

I'm not giving up on Seaver King. He felt like a high floor, low ceiling pick, which I don't like with that high a pick. I think in first round you should take the big swings, which is why I was good with Willits.

I don't think he'll ever be good enough hitter to be an every day player, and the value is he comes up as a plus base runner who can field multiple positions at a high level while being a good short side platoon hitter. I think that is still on the table, and having that guy under team control is definitely not a "bust" in the sport with the most random draft. Even if I think Nationals should have swung for the ceiling not the high floor, if Seaver King ends up as that player then I won't be mad.

[imref]

Sam Dykstra:

Seaver King peaking late: Few Fall Leaguers needed a good autumn as much as the Nationals’ 2024 first-rounder and No. 7-ranked prospect.

While other members of his Draft class surged to the Majors this summer, King hit just .244/.294/.337 with six homers in 125 games between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg — two notably pitcher-friendly ballparks. Here in the desert, the right-handed-hitting shortstop has looked much more like his Wake Forest self. He’s 13-for-31 (.419) with two homers, five doubles and only three strikeouts through seven games.

King has been routinely on fastballs, batting .533 against them in the early going while he shoots balls to the gaps. He could stand to pull the ball a little better with his homers going to right-center and right, but with an early hard-hit rate of 71.4 percent and three barrels in 14 batted balls, he is finding the right part of the bat generally in the early small sample. Add in good speed — he has two recorded Sprint Speeds above 30 ft/sec — and King is pushing his stock back up headed into his second offseason.

[Natsinpwc]

So there’s hope!

[nobleisthyname]

Can someone remind me what the long-term positional expectation is for King? He's been exclusively a shortstop so far but he's listed as 3B/OF here. If his future is as a utility guy when does he need to start actually gaining experience at other positions?

[imref]

He’s been mostly playing SS so they probably see him there. Dykstra now has him listed as a SS so I updated the thread title.

[imref]

Keith Law:  (emphasis mine)

Washington Nationals prospect Seaver King had the best week of any player I saw in Arizona, playing 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale) defense at shortstop and using the whole field well. He did that while showing the above-average power that made him the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft.

The Nationals’ amateur scouting staff believed he could play shortstop, even though he’d primarily played other positions in his one year at Wake Forest.  And they were right, as he showed good range to his right and excellent hands, making one outstanding play on a weakly hit groundball that required him to get off his feet quickly and make a throw while on the run to get the runner.

King’s 2025 regular season was derailed in spring training by a specific Nationals coach encouraging him to change his swing to pull the ball in the air more. The results speak for themselves: he started in a huge funk, with a .222/.283/.333 line and 27.6 percent strikeout rate on May 15, then hit well for two weeks before a promotion to Double A.

At that level, he hit .233/.287/.313 for the remainder of the season, although at least there he cut the strikeout rate to 20.7 percent. In the AFL, he’s reverted to his college swing and approach, and he looks like a completely new player, hitting .382/.462/.706 in 39 plate appearances as of Oct. 21. More importantly, he’s using the whole field again while making much more frequent contact (just four strikeouts).

I spoke to King after one game, and he mentioned that his Double-A Harrisburg hitting coach, Jeff Livesey, who is in the AFL on Scottsdale’s coaching staff, and his AFL teammate Kevin McGonigle, helped get him to stop worrying about the shape of his swing and instead focus on getting into good counts where he can swing hard.

He’s always been an aggressive hitter who showed in college that he could even square up some pitches out of the zone, and now he’s loose at the plate again. For instance, I saw him drop his hands on a changeup down and in for a triple, whereas before he would have looked like he was squeezing the bat handle tightly enough to strangle it. I’m not sure what the motivation would be to take a first-round pick who was very good in his pro debut and try to change his entire approach before the next season. Sending King to the AFL gave him a chance to reset everything, and now he looks like a potential star again.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Interesting. A lot of us, including me, have been on the Nats for their groundball tendencies and the failure to pull and elevate. Seems like that advice got King into trouble. I suppose it's sometimes counter-productive to force onto an already-good hitter a different approach. I also recall Bell had problems trying to hit for more power and got right by reverting to his old approach. Moral of the story may be more knowing what makes your players talented and coaching to that, and maybe identifying better what talent fits your preferred approach before you acquire it.