Follow the Prospects: Seaver King, SS

[Slateman]

Probably will have room for both after the deadline. Wallace can play 2B

[JCA-CrystalCity]

By OPS yes, but King has a remarkable 1.3 BB/K and his P/PA has shot up from last year to 4.48.  Wallace's component stats haven't jumped like King's. It's like this guy found the road to Damascus last year in the AFL, and forgot all the garbage the old Nats coaches taught him, and saw the light on patience and pitch selection.

not to turn this into a Wallace thread, but 0.75 Bb/K is still quite good. I think King might be favored going forward, but if Wallace keeps this up, he'll likely be lost to Rule 5 if he's not added by the end of the year. King, OTOH, has until 2027. They may want to let King play out the year in the minors to save a roster spot rather than promote him this season when he has a level between where he's  at and the majors.

The other thing about why I mentioned Wallace is he was  completely written off by everyone after doing nothing with the  Nats since his trade in 2024.

[imref]

hit two more HRs today. .992 OPS

[Smithian]

Small sample size, but after his AFL stint…..

I’m starting to have hope

[imref]

Has reached base in all 19 games.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.federalbaseball.com/washington-nationals-prospects/90557/seaver-king-other-washington-nationals-prospects-swinging-less-doing-more-damage

Discussion of a massive improvement in his selectivity that has led to crushing the ball.

Last season, Seaver King swung at 53.1% of pitches in the minors. That is much more than the average big league rate, which hovers around 46%. This over aggression is part of what contributed to a rough first pro season for King. Now, the former first round pick is only swinging at 39.8% of pitches, but is doing much more damage.

In over 500 at bats last season, Seaver King hit just six home runs. Armed with a new approach, King already has four homers, a feat he did not accomplish until the middle of June last year. It is clear that King is hunting for his pitch and driving it when it comes. If he does not get his pitch, he is perfectly content to take it.

King has nearly tripled his walk rate from last year (5.8% -> 17+%).

Right now, the Nats have 11 minor league hitters who are walking over 15% of the time. Last season, they only had three, and all of them were either in the Dominican Summer League or the complex, where pitchers don’t throw many strikes. Even if that number drops to 7 or 8, it would be much higher than any season in recent memory.

The article then goes into some of the system-wide improvements in selectivity and how F-burg is training its hitters against Trajekt pitch simulations that are tougher than they will see in A ball. There's some nice things about modernity.

[imref]

Nusbaum on King's turnaround:

Two metrics that tell that story: He’s improved his average exit velocity from about 87 mph to 93.5 mph. He’s cut his chase rate from about 38 percent to 25 percent. That’s almost unfathomable improvement, even if it has come with a heavy helping of grounders.

His OPS at Harrisburg (.932) is up over 300 points from last year’s mark at the same affiliate.

[blue911]

Nusbaum on King's turnaround:

Rizzo beat all the fun out of following prospects. It’s good to have it return.

[Slateman]

We just traded Zack Short to the Tigers, so there is a spot in Triple A now

[JCA-CrystalCity]

We just traded Zack Short to the Tigers, so there is a spot in Triple A now

We were speculating about that in the general minors thread. Could trigger a chain reaction of promotions. Not clear who would play short otherwise. Lipscomb? Unlikely.
AAA now for King would leave him in a position for a call up to MI if he does well.

[imref]

Journeyman Levi Scott playing SS tonight.

[nobleisthyname]

Ranked the 25th best team prospect by FanGraphs.

Hit

|

Raw Power

|

Game Power

|

Run

|

Fielding

|

Throw

|

FV

30/40

|

50/50

|

30/40

|

60/60

|

30/45

|

60

|

40

King transferred to Wake from Division-II Wingate but had experience against top competition before he arrived on campus, as he raked on Cape Cod and was among the most impressive athletes on the Collegiate Team USA roster the summer before he was drafted. His lone season at Wake went well (.308/.377/.577) while King played multiple positions (in order of frequency: third base, center field, shortstop, second base).

Despite his performance track record, he was still viewed as more of an athletic developmental project than a polished player come draft time. This remains so. In his first full season, King slashed just .244/.294/.337 as he struggled with chase and timing. Though his tools shined in the Fall League, he is still more a prospect of projection than one likely to yield short-term big league results. He isn’t yet a polished shortstop defender (he’s seen his first pro action at second base in 2026) and can be error-prone both fielding and throwing, while on offense his swing’s length makes it very difficult for King to time fastballs. For a narrowly-built guy, the verve with which he swings once he gets his body rotating is very impressive. He has roughly average raw thump, but unless the way King’s hands work changes drastically, his power is going to play down in games. And that’s before we even consider the impact that his lack of plate discipline will have on his overall production. It’s going to be important for King’s shortstop defense to polish up because his future big league fit is likely in a utility role.

[nobleisthyname]

Age: 23
Team rank: 7
Current level: AA

April recap

Games played at position
SS: 19
2B: 3

PA

|

AVG

|

OBP

|

SLG

|

HR

|

SB

|

K%

|

BB%

|

ISO

|

OPS

|

wRC+

106

|

.286

|

.400

|

.536

|

4

|

3

|

21.7%

|

16.0%

|

.250

|

.936

|

143

[welch]

Promote him to Rochester. Nats have traded Short, so Red Wings need a shortstop.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

FWIW, the Red Wings played Levi Jordan at SS last night and Lip is playing today. Jordan's obviously a placeholder, while Lip is getting in utility infielder work. I can't see them wanting to go a month+ with Jordan there blocking King at AA and all the SSs in the A and A+. Maybe the move is Monday so King is up for the next series starting Tuesday.

[welch]

Lipscomb at SS today. Incidentally, YoYo at DH, Chappy at 3B and Ortiz at 1B. Do they trust YoYo's fielding?

[imref]

3-5, HR, 2B in what is hopefully his final game at AA.

[imref]

Seems crazy that King isn’t on his way to Rochester.

[Smithian]

It's time for a challenge promotion

[imref]

3-5, 2-2B, 3B, 2R, RBI today.

GET HIM TO ROCHESTER!

[zimm_da_kid]

3-5, 2-2B, 3B, 2R, RBI today.

GET HIM TO ROCHESTER!

Getting ridiculous at this point. Only things I can think of is maybe they want him to really feel this confidence boost after a couple meh years and having his shine fade a bit before they move him up

[imref]

Nusbaum says they still want him working on his defense, which is why they haven't promoted him. Begs the question of why he can't work on it at AAA?

[Slateman]

If he still needs to "work on his defense" then he's not a shortstop

[Natsinpwc]

I’m trying to understand why, if we are building for three or four year from now at best, we want to rush anyone and use up service time? Let him stay Double A and go to Rochester in June or July. See how he does next year in spring training.  Nunez can play SS every day if CJ is traded. He doesn’t look like a MLB player but might as well give him a chance.

[SkinsNatFan21RIP]

I’m trying to understand why, if we are building for three or four year from now at best, we want to rush anyone and use up service time? Let him stay Double A and go to Rochester in June or July. See how he does next year in spring training.  Nunez can play SS every day if CJ is traded. He doesn’t look like a MLB player but might as well give him a chance.

He's 23-years old. I think you're past the point of rushing him. Realistically if he can play you'd want him up sooner rather than later in my opinion.