Shortstop Seaver King, the 10th overall pick in 2024, heads into 2026 with increased confidence after his performance in the Arizona Fall League.

“After a lackluster-ish year, it was great having a blank slate against the best competition,” King said.

Playing for Scottsdale, the 22-year-old King simplified his approach and his swing as he hit .359/.468/.563 in 18 games. He took what had been his two-strike setup with no stride and used it throughout his entire plate appearances. King earned a roster spot in the AFL’s Fall Stars Game.

“I saw the results by not worrying about the results,” King said. “I still used my ‘A’ swing with no stride, but it was more intent-based. Mentally, I was more able to repeat what I was doing well.”

In the regular minor league season last year, King played at High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg. In 125 games he hit .244/.294/.337 with six home runs. He stole 30 bases in 34 tries and was selected by the organization as the system’s baserunner of the year.

King’s bat carried him to success at Division II Wingate in North Carolina, with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team and then at Wake Forest, but he had to rely on other tools for much of last season.

He called his 2025 minor league season “a complete learning process.” The 6-foot righthanded hitter had success in his first taste of pro ball at Low-A Fredericksburg following the 2024 draft, but the going was tougher at his two stops in 2025.

“Something I had to learn was that I can affect the game in a lot of ways,” King said. “I’ve improved my defense and really worked at running the bases.”

CAPITAL GAINS

— Outfielder Sam Petersen, an eighth-round pick out of Iowa in 2024, posted a .934 OPS in 17 games in the AFL. He reached High-A Wilmington last year and produced a .905 OPS in 57 minor league games. “He’s always one of the best players on the field—not the most flashy, but always one of the best,” King said of his AFL teammate. “I was there for his pro debut when he had four hits and was robbed of a home run, so I know how good he is.”

— The Nationals took 26-year-old righthander Griff McGarry with the third pick in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft. McGarry, a fifth-round pick of the Phillies in 2021 out of Virginia, has a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider but 202 walks in 287 minor league innings.