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The Washington Nationals selected collegiate shortstop Seaver King out of Wake Forest University with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Vice President, Amateur Scouting Danny Haas, Senior Director, Amateur Scouting Brad Ciolek, and Assistant Director and National Crosschecker, Amateur Scouting Reed Dunn made the joint announcement.
King, 21, hit .308 with 14 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 64 RBI, 25 walks, 11 stolen bases and 59 runs scored in 60 games as he helped lead Wake Forest to the Greenville Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. He posted a .377 on-base percentage, .577 slugging percentage and recorded a hit in 48 games, including 24 multi-hit performances. King recorded 21 multi-RBI games including eight games with three or more. He reached base safely in 31 straight games during the 2024 campaign (April 2-May 25), posting an 11-game hit streak (April 6-23) and a 16-game hit streak (April 27-May 24) during that span.
The No. 17 draft prospect according to Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com, King was a Dick Howser Trophy (top collegiate player) semifinalist and garnered Third-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors after his junior season. Prior to the start of his junior campaign, he was named Preseason Third-Team All-America by D1Baseball.com.
Between his sophomore and junior seasons, King played for Harwich in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he slashed .424/.479/.542 with four doubles, one homer, nine RBI, five stolen bases, seven walks and 15 runs scored in 16 games.
Standing at six-foot, 195-pounds, King began his collegiate career at Wingate (N.C.) University, where he had a 47-game hitting streak as a sophomore in 2023, the third-longest hitting streak in Division II history. He went on to lead Wingate in batting average (.411), slugging (.699), on-base percentage (.457), runs (63), hits (90), RBI (53), doubles (20), triples (5), home runs (11), total bases (153) and stolen bases (13). Following the season, he was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate Team.
MILWAUKEE – In a first half packed with encouraging, unexpected performances from the Nationals’ young pitchers, Jake Irvin stood at the top of the pack.
More than anyone else on the staff, the 27-year-old took the kind of forward strides that forced any skeptics out there to reconsider how he might just fit into the long-term plan, looking far more like a frontline starter than a back-end innings-eater.
Two bad starts to close out the half – capped by today’s slog during a 9-3 loss to the Brewers – don’t diminish everything Irvin did the previous three months. But they will leave a bit of a sour taste in the right-hander’s mouth as he heads home for the All-Star break.
"Look at the big picture, and see that it was a good first half," he said. "But just let these last two starts be a reminder that there's still work to be done. And we're going to get better and move forward with this."
One of the National League’s most consistently effective starters so far this season, worthy of an All-Star selection even though he didn’t get one, Irvin was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) in only four innings this afternoon. That came on the heels of a six-run outing last week against the Mets, these two duds turning Irvin’s 2.80 ERA into a 3.49 ERA in short order.
MILWAUKEE – The jubilation of a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Brewers had the Nationals clubhouse thumping Saturday evening. So when the team’s relievers were summoned to Davey Martinez’s office about 30 minutes after the final out was recorded, everyone just assumed the manager was going to praise them for the job they did to churn out 8 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Mitchell Parker was pulled in the bottom of the first.
Martinez did praise them for that above-and-beyond effort, but he also had news to share with the group: Hunter Harvey had been traded to the Royals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and the 39th pick in tonight’s MLB Draft.
The room went silent, Harvey probably the most stunned of the entire group, his baseball life upended in a manner of seconds.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions yesterday, especially with the bullpen,” Martinez said this morning. “Those guys did so well yesterday in the game, and to have to break the news to them that one of their brothers was leaving us to go play somewhere else … they all get it. They understand what the reality is in this game; those things happen. I wish nothing but the best for Hunter. He’s a big part of the Nationals family.”
As it turned out, Harvey wasn’t among the five relievers who pitched Saturday and made an improbable win possible. In the moment, it was easy to assume he was unavailable after pitching the previous two days. After the fact, it was clear he was unavailable not for that reason but because the trade was in the works.
MILWAUKEE – It’s been an eventful weekend here, to say the least. Friday night’s win was solid. Saturday afternoon’s win was wild. And the postgame trade of Hunter Harvey threw an unexpected wrench into the proceedings. And at the end of all that, the Nationals now take the field this afternoon with a chance to sweep the first-place Brewers and go into the All-Star break on a decidedly high note.
The Nats will hope to keep the good offensive vibes going, this time against right-hander Colin Rae. The 34-year-old journeyman is enjoying a solid season, but he’s not a big strikeout guy and he has allowed 14 homers in 99 1/3 innings. If the Nationals can hit the ball in the air on a warm, muggy day here, they should have a chance to score some runs.
Jake Irvin gets the ball for the first-half finale, and it’s been a fantastic first half for the right-hander, aside from an ugly loss to the Mets last week. Irvin will hope to turn that around, pitch more like himself and go into the break on his own personal high note.
Update: The Brewers are actually not starting Rae today. Instead, it will be left-hander Rob Zastryzny opening a bullpen game.
Update II: The Nationals have recalled right-hander Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester to take Harvey's roster spot.
The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Willingham, 25, joins the Nationals after not allowing an earned run across his last five appearances (6.0 IP) with Rochester and having surrendered just two hits with eight strikeouts and four walks along the way. Willingham is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 32 relief outings (39.2 IP) for the Red Wings in 2024, having tossed more than 1.0 inning in 14 of his 32 appearances.
A 17th-round pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, Willingham made his Major League debut in 2023, appearing in 18 games across four Major League stints. He threw more than 1.0 inning in eight of his 18 outings, including 3.0 scoreless innings on Sept. 2 vs. Miami. At the Minor League level, he went 5-1 with five saves and a 2.02 ERA in 28 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester in 2023.
MILWAUKEE – Only minutes after one of their most rousing victories of the season, the Nationals made the first of what could be several deals that underscore the organization’s intention to keep focus on 2025 and beyond over the present.
The Nats traded top setup man Hunter Harvey to the Royals for third base prospect Cayden Wallace plus Kansas City’s Competitive Balance A pick, which just so happens to be the 39th overall pick in Sunday night’s MLB Draft.
The deal came shortly after the Nationals rallied from a five-run deficit in the first inning to beat the Brewers, 6-5, with a large number of the team’s pitchers summoned to manager Davey Martinez’s office for a closed-door meeting during which they appear to have been informed of the trade.
Harvey had become one of the Nats’ most reliably effective relievers over the last three seasons, the formerly injury-plagued right-hander with the Orioles finally keeping himself healthy for long stretches and realizing his full potential. Though he struggled recently and saw his ERA balloon to 4.20, that number was down to 2.08 in early June, and he enjoyed back-to-back impressive performances Thursday and Friday to allay any fears his slump would continue.
The 29-year-old wound up with a 3.17 ERA, 1.083 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings across 138 appearances since he joined the Nationals in 2022. And because he remained under club control through the 2025 season, there was always the thought general manager Mike Rizzo might choose not to trade him and keep him and closer Kyle Finnegan (also under control through 2025) together as the organization attempts to return to contention next year.
The Washington Nationals acquired third baseman Cayden Wallace and competitive balance draft pick (No. 39 overall) from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed pitcher Hunter Harvey on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Wallace, 22, is Kansas City’s No. 2 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com and their No. 5 prospect, per Baseball America. He joins the Nationals organization after hitting .280 with nine doubles, three home runs, 18 RBI, 10 walks, three stolen bases and 19 runs scored in 41 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and the Arizona Complex League Royals.
Wallace led Royals Minor Leaguers with 47 extra-base hits and ranked second with 84 RBI in 2023. He also ranked among Kansas City Minor Leaguers in triples (2nd, 7), runs scored (2nd, 75), hits (3rd, 128), doubles (3rd, 27), total bases (3rd, 208) slugging percentage (7th, .414) and OPS (9th, .745).
Originally selected in the second round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arkansas, Wallace has hit .265 with a .340 on-base percentage and a .420 slugging percentage in 198 games across three professional seasons. He’s clubbed 43 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, 118 RBI and has drawn 76 walks along the way.
With the acquisition of Kansas City’s competitive balance draft pick, the Nationals will now have three selections on the first day of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, picks 10, 39 and 44 overall.
MILWAUKEE – It was just about the worst possible way this game could have started for the Nationals, Mitchell Parker unable to get out of the first inning with a pitch count bordering on dangerous levels, the Brewers storming out to a quick five-run lead.
The Nats bullpen was already in less-than-ideal shape on Day 16 of a brutal, 17-day stretch to close out the season’s first half. But there were still eight innings to play, and nothing had to be written in stone at that early juncture, no matter how ugly it looked.
And sure enough, by the time CJ Abrams demolished a 99-mph fastball from Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill in the top of the ninth and Kyle Finnegan finished off a remarkable bullpen effort that included 8 1/3 scoreless innings, the Nationals – yes, the Nationals – were the ones celebrating in the middle of the diamond at American Family Field, having pulled off a 6-5 victory that has to qualify as one of the most stunning in team history.
"You can either lay down or fight back," Abrams said. "We do a good job of fighting back. It's not over 'til it's over, and we showed that."
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the first, with Parker pulled and Davey Martinez having to turn to his bullpen at that ridiculously early juncture, the Nats somehow clawed their way back to win.
MILWAUKEE – The Nationals have decided to use the last two days before the All-Star break as an opportunity to get a look at another pitcher who could figure into their long-term plans if he keeps doing in the majors what he did at Triple-A.
The Nats called up reliever Eduardo Salazar prior to today’s game against the Brewers, swapping the right-hander for Jackson Rutledge, who was optioned back to Rochester following his strong spot start Friday night at American Family Field.
Salazar, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners last month, then proceeded to post eye-popping numbers in nine games at Triple-A: one earned run allowed in 10 2/3 innings, with 15 strikeouts and only two walks.
“Very impressive,” manager Davey Martinez said, adding: “I really wanted to give him a chance, especially in the next couple days, see what he can do if we get him in there. He threw the ball really well at Triple-A. He was a really good addition for us to pick up. I appreciate the guys adding another arm for us.”
Salazar has nine games of big league experience over the last two seasons with the Reds and Dodgers but has been on a meandering ride the last few months. The Mariners claimed him off waivers May 23, but after only four appearances at Triple-A Tacoma, the Nats claimed him off waivers June 13 and added him to their organization.
The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Eduardo Salazar from Triple-A Rochester and optioned right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Salazar, 26, joins the Nationals after posting a 0.84 ERA (1 ER/10.2 IP) with 15 strikeouts, two walks and a .200 opponents’ batting average (8-for-40) in nine outings for Triple-A Rochester. He tossed more than 1.0 inning of relief in four of the nine appearances.
Salazar was claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on June 13 after appearing in four games with Triple-A Tacoma. He opened the season in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system and eventually appeared in one Major League game, May 15 at San Francisco (2.0 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 3 SO).
A native of Cumana, Venezuela, Salazar was originally signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a non-drafted free agent on March 4, 2017. He made his Major League debut with Cincinnati on May 24, 2023 vs. St. Louis and earned his first Major League win on June 6, 2023 vs. Los Angeles (NL). Salzar has appeared in nine Major League games across two seasons, going 1-0 with a 6.91 ERA along the way.
Rutledge, 25, has appeared in two games (one start) for Washington this season, posting a 4.76 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks.
MILWAUKEE – It’s been a while since the Nationals last won a series opener. You have to go back to June 21 in Colorado for the most recent case. So Friday night’s 5-2 victory over the Brewers was significant, because it now gives them two opportunities to win this series before heading into the All-Star break. It’s always better to play ahead than behind, right?
The Nats got a rare, sustained offensive attack in the opener, rapping out 12 hits and scoring in four different innings. They’ll try to do the same today against Dallas Keuchel, who has had quite the meandering path through the league the last few years. A stalwart of the Astros’ rotation from 2012-18, the left-hander has pitched for six major league organizations since, and not especially well. This will be his fourth start for Milwaukee, and his last one was wild: three hits, five walks, zero strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings against the Dodgers … without allowing a run.
Mitchell Parker gets the ball for the Nationals, looking to close out his breakthrough first half on a high note. The rookie boasts a 3.44 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 16 starts, and his consistency has been remarkable. He’s gone at least five innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs in 12 of those 16 starts. He’s gone at least six innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs in six of those starts.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: American Family Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 10 mph in from center field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
1B Juan Yepez
LF James Wood
DH Harold Ramírez
2B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young
MILWAUKEE – Nobody wants to be at Triple-A. Everyone at Triple-A wants to be in the majors, whether for the first time or for the first time in a while.
The challenge for those grinding away at the highest level of the minor leagues is not to think too much about trying to get promoted, not to treat every game like a potential ticket out of town.
For Jackson Rutledge this year, that has proven far more difficult than he ever imagined.
“I’m going to be honest,” the right-hander said Friday night. “I haven’t done a great job of it.”
Rutledge said this after making a spot start for the Nationals, his first big league start of the season, even though the season is now nearly 60 percent complete. He thought he’d have been up here a lot sooner, fully believing he’d be the organization’s first choice to come up from Rochester when something happened in the rotation, just as manager Davey Martinez suggested would be the case at the end of spring training.
MILWAUKEE – If anyone was worried the grind of 17 games in 17 days to close out the season’s first half – not to mention 13 losses over the last 17 games – would leave the Nationals a dejected bunch this evening, Jesse Winker and Co. made sure to allay those fears right off the bat tonight.
And if anyone was worried Jackson Rutledge wouldn’t be up to the challenge of his first big league start of 2024 against the first-place Brewers, the big right-hander also made sure to allay those fears right from the get-go.
Rutledge allowed only two runs in a strong-if-abbreviated spot start, and Winker led a balanced offensive attack with an RBI double and a solo homer against his former team as the Nats topped the Brewers, 5-2, and snapped their five-game losing streak with an all-around impressive showing.
An exhausted roster arrived in Milwaukee late Thursday night following a series sweep in New York and had to muster up the energy to take on the Brewers in the final weekend of this daunting stretch before everyone can enjoy a well-deserved All-Star break.
"That's your job. That's what you sign up for, to come in and grind it out," Winker said. "It's hard. It's a hard game. It was a tough stretch of games, and we've been playing a lot of really good teams, but it's a good league. It's our job to keep coming in, put the work in and grind stuff out."
MILWAUKEE – When the Nationals demoted DJ Herz to Triple-A earlier this week, it opened the door for the club to carry a long reliever for the first time this season. But with the fifth starter’s spot in the rotation coming back up this evening, the team had no choice but to drop that long man in favor of a fill-in starter.
With Jackson Rutledge recalled from Rochester to start tonight’s series opener against the Brewers, the Nats optioned Joan Adon back to Triple-A, only four days after calling him up.
Adon, a starter through his entire professional career until recent weeks when he was converted to a long relief role in the minors, wound up appearing in only one game for the Nationals this week, pitching the ninth inning of what became a 5-0 loss to the Cardinals. The team never found itself in a situation where it used him for multiple innings the rest of the week.
Rutledge is not expected to remain in the majors after making his spot start tonight, so the Nats could send him back down and call up a reliever to take his spot. But they can’t recall Adon for 10 days unless he’s replacing an injured pitcher.
Club officials do still believe Adon could prove valuable later this season as a much-needed long man in the bullpen, once he gets fully acclimated to the role.
MILWAUKEE – The Nationals, as you probably realize by now, are limping into the All-Star break. They’ve lost five in a row, not to mention 13 of their last 17. They’ve gone from one game under .500 to 10 games under .500, a significant difference as they evaluate the overall state of things heading into the trade deadline at the end of the month.
What the Nats need right now, though, is a good weekend against the Brewers. They’ve got to try to summon the energy and motivation to play better baseball the next three days before dispersing around the country for the break.
They especially need to score more runs on a more consistent basis after a really rough series in New York that saw them score seven total runs in three games, five of those coming in the final two innings of Tuesday’s loss, the other two coming in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s loss. That’s just not going to cut it. Tonight, they face veteran right-hander Freddy Peralta, who over his last four starts has a 2.45 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 22 innings.
There’s a new face on the mound tonight for the Nationals: Jackson Rutledge, who officially was recalled from Triple-A, with Joan Adon optioned back to Rochester to clear a roster spot for him. Rutledge was supposed to be the first starter called up when the season began, but a rough start to his season in Rochester opened the door for Mitchell Parker, then later DJ Herz, and we’ve seen how those two seized their opportunities. This figures to be a one-off for Rutledge, who had a 6.66 ERA in 16 minor league starts this year but did allow two or fewer earned runs in three of his last four.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: American Family Field
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph in from center field
NEW YORK – James Wood and Trey Lipscomb each took long roads to only end up in their own backyards. The two Nationals prospects both grew up within an hour of D.C. and now they’re teammates for the first time at the major league level.
“This is kinda how it felt all throughout the minors,” Wood said. “We just are doing the same stuff that we do normally, but it's just up here, which is always fun. It's cool.”
Wood and Lipscomb both entered the Nats farm system in 2022, but by different means. Lipscomb, a Frederick, Md., native, was drafted by the Nats in the third round out of the University of Tennessee. Two weeks later, Wood, an Olney, Md., native, was included in the biggest trade in baseball history when he and four other top prospects were shipped to the Nats in exchange for Juan Soto.
The two quickly became teammates at Single-A Fredericksburg and have risen through the system together ever since, making stops at High-Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester before finally making the major leagues together this past week.
“I don't think really much of it has changed to be honest,” Lipscomb said. “I feel like we came up (together). When I first got drafted and he got traded over by the Padres, we were in Low-A Fredericksburg together. We've been working our way all the way up since then. Obviously, last year started at High-A together. And then Double-A. Then obviously, spring training and Triple-A. But it's kind of just been the same. I feel like we've just been the same and just continuing to grow, us being teammates. Not only that, but our friendship together.”
NEW YORK – The Nationals entered Thursday’s matinee finale in Queens needing a win against the Mets to avoid the three-game sweep. More importantly, they needed a win to slow down their two-week slide before the finale series of the first half.
It’s been a mostly positive first half of the season for the Nationals, who have surpassed some preseason expectations, thanks in large part to some impressive performances by their young players.
They reached .500 in late April for the first time since July 2021. And they hovered around that mark for the next couple of months, sometimes even slipping into a wild card spot. But starting with a three-game sweep in San Diego in late June, the Nats have started going in the opposite direction, losing 12 of their last 16 entering today’s game.
Make that now losers of 13 of their last 17 games and five straight to fall 10 games under .500 after a 7-0 shutout loss to the Mets in front of an announced crowd of 25,710 at Citi Field.
The Nationals offense continues to slog through these weeks leading up to the All-Star break. They scored too late in Tuesday’s loss. They scored two early Wednesday, but none after that. And they didn’t score at all today.
NEW YORK – The Nationals need a win today, plan and simple. After trending in the right direction for most of the first half, they are heading the opposite way going into the All-Star break. A win to avoid a sweep at Citi Field and a couple more in Milwaukee wouldn’t be a cure-all. But it would be a good way for the team to enter the break and perhaps get back on track to start the second half.
MacKenzie Gore was beaten around in his last start for five runs on six hits and five walks in just 3 ⅓ innings against the Cardinals. But in his start before that, he held the Mets to just one run while getting eight strikeouts in 5 ⅔ innings. So he’ll try to avoid what happened to Jake Irvin the other night and continue his success against New York.
David Peterson goes for the Mets this afternoon in another rematch of starting pitchers from last week’s series in D.C. The lefty was charged with two runs on seven hits in 6 ⅓ innings against the Nats. He was similarly effective in his previous start, holding the Pirates to two runs but only completing 4 ⅓ innings.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 87 degrees, wind 14 mph out to right-center field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF James Wood
DH Jesse Winker
C Riley Adams
1B Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young
NEW YORK – Davey Martinez needed to shake up his lineup. For the most part, it hasn’t been getting the job done as is over the past couple of weeks. Sure there were a few offensive outbursts here and there, but it definitely needed a kickstart to be more consistent.
So what did the Nationals manager do against Mets right-hander Luis Severino? He stacked the first five spots in the batting order with four left-handed hitters and one switch-hitter. And although it was actually the right-handed hitters at the bottom of the lineup that helped give the Nats an early lead, a disastrous sixth inning led to a fourth straight loss.
The Nats fell to the Mets 6-2 in front of an announced crowd of 24,887 at Citi Field, who got very loud during the bottom of the sixth.
With a 2-1 lead, Patrick Corbin returned to the mound to give his team at least one more inning and keep the lead intact. He had been effective up until that point at only 65 pitches, but the third time through the heart of the Mets order proved too much for the veteran lefty to handle.
Three straight hits tied the game at 2-2 and that was enough for Martinez to go to the bullpen to try to keep this one close. In came Derek Law, who has struggled with inherited runners this season, with two runners in scoring position and no outs. What could have been predicted came to fruition.
NEW YORK – James Wood’s movement up the Nationals lineup continues today as he gets bumped up to the No. 2 spot against Mets right-handed starter Luis Severino. In fact, all of the Nats’ left-handed hitters moved up the order for tonight’s second game of this three-game set in Queens.
To face Severino, who held the Nats to one run on seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts over eight innings a month ago, manager Davey Martinez is putting lefties CJ Abrams, Wood, Jesse Winker, Keibert Ruiz (switch-hitter) and Luis García Jr. in the first five spots in the order. That does mean some guys have to move down.
Lane Thomas, who has hit second in 48 of his 63 games, moves down to sixth in the lineup for the first time this season.
“I just wanted to get our lefties up there against Severino, all of them up there, and see if we can score early,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I bumped Lane down a little bit just to take his mind off some stuff. Gotta get him ready to hit the fastball again. He's a little late, so I just wanted to get some other guys up there.”
The Nats struggled against left-hander Jose Quintana last night and have struggled to score early lately. They haven’t scored first in any of their last three games.
