As the Nationals have promoted some of their top prospects to the major league level this season – with more on the way – they have also moved some newer players up the minor league ranks.
Seaver King, last year’s first-round pick (No. 10 overall) out of Wake Forest, was recently promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg, just 45 games into his first full professional season.
King, who is ranked as the Nats’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 8 by Baseball America, hadn’t really experienced a promotion in his short time with the Nationals. After he was drafted, he finished the 2024 season by playing 20 games with Single-A Fredericksburg. Then he started this year straight at High-A before moving up to Double-A.
“It's something I haven't experienced quite yet. But it was good,” King said last week on the “District Chat” podcast. “We were on the road, so I got to enjoy my last bus ride with the guys in Wilmington. I got to spend my off-day there as well. And then drive up here, get ready for the game, and then come here after the game, after a walk-off win feeling good, and now I gotta unpack. So it's kind of one day of just tough work, but after that it's really enjoyable.”
The 22-year-old’s numbers at Wilmington didn’t blow anyone away, especially after a slow start to the season. But a .263 average, .687 OPS, 12 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 12 stolen bases while playing half of your games at pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium is impressive enough to earn a promotion.
“I think I started the slowest I've ever started in my career and it was just trying to find my confidence back,” King said. “DY (hitting coach Delwyn Young) down in Wilmington and (manager) Jake (Lowery) and that staff really helped me out. And that team really helped me out. So I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those guys. They were able to just instill confidence in me and kind of show me, 'You can do this. It's just one bump in the road, but you're gonna come out the other side.' So that's kind of what happened.”
What really changed was King’s strikeout rate. After striking out in 37 percent of his 73 at-bats in April, he cut that by more than half down to 14 percent in 103 at-bats in May, getting punched out a total of 14 times in 25 games during the second month.
“I think it was just all confidence,” he said. “It was kind of feeling myself again. I feel like the first month of the year I was lost. And even in spring training, I was pretty lost. And then just kind of being able to hone in and work on my stuff and get my confidence back has been really good, and kind of going back to what I've always done. I'm not trying to change too much and just kind of be simple. You know the 'keep it simple, stupid' kind of thing.”
Hearing a young player feel “lost” is not unusual. Especially early in their careers as they adjust to pro ball and the upper levels of the minor leagues. It’s how they find themselves again that’s telling. With King, he just trusted himself while gaining back his confidence.
“I'm pretty feel-oriented, so I kind of know when I'm off. And that day, I know I'm off, but I'm gonna have to still try to fight in order to try to produce,” he said. “So it was kind of an everyday kind of tinkering thing. Try something, get in the box, does it feel good? Kind of day-to-day thing. And it took a month, really, just to kind of get back to what I've always done and feel confident again. And I think really the turning point was on my birthday. I think I hit that home run, and kind of after that, I felt pretty good.”
Sure enough on April 25, King went 2-for-4 with his first professional home run. He closed the month with three more hits, including his first triple and another homer, before really taking off in May.
King always had the potential to be a fast-riser through the system. He was an accomplished college bat at one of the best programs in the country at Wake, where his experience helped prepare him for the pros. And he still keeps in touch with his former college teammates, who are currently going through the same journey as him.
“I think it was just really how to create a routine,” King said. “Kind of what I know I need to do every day. One of the main guys I learned from was Nick Kurtz, and you see him, he's now in the big leagues (with the Athletics). We still talk every day, so that's good to kind of have him still in my hip pocket, just to be able to talk to him about whatever it may be. So he's been a really good help to me. And then the staff. Each and every one of those guys I've talked to since I've been in pro ball. They've been able to keep me going and instill the confidence again. I think confidence is big for me. And I think they did a good job of giving me that there and then kind of making sure, like, hey, you're still the dude here.”
King is hitting .237 with a .566 OPS in nine games as the Senators’ everyday shortstop. But he also hit his first Double-A home run Wednesday night, a two-run opposite-field shot against the Chesapeake Baysox. And he knows he’ll have to keep making adjustments at every level.
“I think it's just becoming comfortable,” he said. “This is really the first game of pro ball I've played that Jake Lowery hasn't been my manager. So that was a little bit of an adjustment. But (Harrisburg manager) Delino (DeShields) is a great guy and playing for him was easy. They kind of just were like, 'Hey, you're here. It doesn't change. It's just baseball.' So again, it's just when your staff shows that they have confidence in you, it makes it 10x easier to play along with the players.
“And it's a lot of Wilmington guys up here, so it's a lot of familiar faces, along with a good group of guys who I played with at spring training. So it's honestly not that big of an adjustment. Going to spring training, playing with all these guys and then kind of meeting back up has been something that's happened. So it's been pretty good.”
Of course, with the way he’s been able to quickly move to Double-A, he’s taken notice of the other top prospects that have advanced through the Nats system and reached the major leagues, providing him with extra motivation.
“Obviously, that's always the main goal,” King said. “But I can't promote myself. I kind of just have to play. That's somebody else's job. So I'm here in Harrisburg. I want to win every game for these guys, and whatever happens, happens.”
You can watch the full interview with King on "District Chat” here or listen to the podcast on your favorite platform here.