Seaver King just isn’t your common prime 10 decide. He was not a extremely touted prospect from a younger age. Actually, he didn’t get any division I presents out of highschool. King spent the primary two years at Division II Wingate Faculty in North Carolina. He was so spectacular there, and within the Cape Cod league that he was puffed up as a primary spherical caliber prospect earlier than transferring to Wake Forest.
After an excellent season at Wake Forest, King was anticipated to go in the midst of the primary spherical, with MLB Pipeline rating him as their quantity 17 draft prospect. The Nationals stunned many by taking him at quantity 10 general. An enormous cause behind the Nats choosing him was to signal him beneath slot worth. They signed King for $5.15 million, effectively beneath the $5.95 million slot worth.
The largest positives of King’s recreation are his athleticism and flexibility. King is an explosive athlete, who’s a plus runner, and has good uncooked energy. His exit velocity numbers are constantly above common. He additionally has expertise at a number of completely different positions. King has performed shortstop, third base, second base, and the outfield. Nevertheless, the Nationals performed him at shortstop throughout his professional debut.
King’s professional debut confirmed each his strengths and weaknesses. He hit .295 at Fredericksburg, exhibiting off his hit instrument and athleticism. Nevertheless, he didn’t hit a house run in 78 at bats. Whereas King has above common uncooked energy, his propensity to hit the ball on the bottom has meant it has not proven up in video games. King additionally confirmed a scarcity of plate self-discipline, constantly chasing pitches outdoors of the zone in his professional debut.
For King to maximise his potential, he should unlock extra energy. In comparison with most school prospects, King is pretty uncooked and excessive variance. This is sensible given his background and fast rise from D2 to the primary spherical. He additionally has loads of untapped potential, making him an attention-grabbing prospect. King will take longer to achieve the massive leagues than most school prospects, however might have extra upside.
King may very well be the shortstop of the longer term relying on what occurs with CJ Abrams. Nevertheless, I feel his most enjoyable function may very well be as a brilliant utility man. He’s a distinct fashion of participant, however he may very well be deployed and have related worth to a Ben Zobrist sort if he reaches his ceiling. Whereas there have been safer, larger ranked choices on the board, Seaver King is an attention-grabbing prospect, who additionally saved the Nationals some cash they spent on different prospects we’ll discuss later.
