Although signed under slot, King brings high upside value

PROSPECT REVIEW: SEAVER KING

Age on opening day 2025: 21

How acquired: Drafted No. 10 overall in 2024 from Wake Forest

Ranking: No. 5 per MLB Pipeline, No. 8 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2027
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

Signing bonus: $5.15 million

2024 levels: Single-A Fredericksburg

2024 stats: 20 G, 90 PA, 78 AB, 15 R, 23 H, 1 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 10 RBIs, 10 SB, 1 CS, 9 BB, 13 SO, .295 AVG, .367 OBP, .385 SLG, .751 OPS

Quotable: “I think it's just kind of how I go about the game and how I play. Just always fun, always have a smile on my face, always want to see my teammates do well. And the baseball stuff takes care of itself after that. But big things, the swing decisions, obviously that's something I've never worked on. And I'm super excited to get the resources and the time to kind of put into that and gain better in that aspect.” – Seaver King on his biggest strengths as a player and what he wants to work on after the draft

2024 analysis: King needed only one season at Wake Forest to turn into a top-10 draft pick. After transferring from Division II Wingate as an incoming junior, he slashed .308/.377/.577 with a .954 OPS, 14 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 64 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, 25 walks and 34 strikeouts in 60 games with one of the country’s best programs.

That strong season vaulted King up draft boards, though most didn’t have him going in the top 10. But the Nationals decided to take him with their first pick, 10th overall, making him the third Demon Deacon selected in the first round.

That decision proved to be part of the Nats’ draft strategy spearheaded by new vice president of amateur scouting Danny Haas and new senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek. The Nationals signed King just under slot value at $5.15 million, with the pick value being $5.95 million. They then drafted catcher Caleb Lomavita from Cal with the Competitive Balance A pick they received from the Royals in the Hunter Harvey trade and also signed him under slot at $2.33 million with the value for the No. 39 pick at $2.4 million. The money they saved with their first two selections allowed the Nats to draft high school shortstop Luke Dickerson and sign him away from his commitment to Virginia by going over the slot value of $2.12 million at $3.8 million.

But just because King was drafted under slot doesn’t mean he’s a slouch. He nearly hit .300 while scoring 15 runs, driving in 10 more, hitting more triples than doubles, stealing 10 bags and helping the FredNats win the Carolina League championship. And while starting all 20 games at shortstop, he posted a .945 fielding percentage with 27 putouts, 42 assists and 10 double plays.

2025 outlook: King’s rise from Wingate to national powerhouse Wake Forest to top-10 pick is indicative of his grit.

At 6-feet, 195 pounds, he is a little undersized and had the fifth-smallest stature of this year’s 30 first-round picks. But with that comes speed, which is graded as a 70 by Baseball America and 65 by MLB Pipeline on a 20-80 scale. And he uses it to his advantage.

Combined with his collegiate season, King stole 21 bases in 23 attempts. Although in a short stint, he averaged one stolen base every other game in Fredericksburg, which adds up to a lot over the course of a full minor league season.

His speed also allows him to be defensively versatile. The Nats drafted him as a shortstop, believing his athleticism can keep him at the premium position in the long run, but he also had experience at third base, second base and the outfield in college. If he doesn’t stick at short, at the very least he can be a super utilityman.

King excels at putting the ball in play, as evident by his batting averages at both Wake and Fredericksburg. But as he mentioned in his introductory press conference at Nats Park, he needs to work on his pitch selection. His chase rate is too high, leading to weak contact and lowering his walk rate.

But his bat was clearly advanced enough that the Nationals didn’t feel the need to have him play in any Rookie-level Florida Complex League games, like most draft picks, and instead sent him straight to Single-A.

The Nats may have signed King at under slot value, but his value on the diamond improves the organization’s overall depth with high upside.