Le Journal

The top guys in the Nationals 2024 draft class had a rocky season last year. Seaver King and Luke Dickerson were major disappointments, while Caleb Lomavita was fine, but nothing special. However, with a new player development team coming in, these guys have another chance to prove themselves and could reach new heights in their development. Let’s start with King, who was drafted 10th overall in the 2024 class. In my opinion, this is probably going to be a pick that the Nationals regret due to some of the names they passed on. Bryce Rainer, Cam Smith and Trey Yesavage are among the notable names taken in the next 10 picks. However, I still believe King has a chance to be a useful big leaguer despite the .631 OPS he posted in his first full professional season.  Seaver King is a tremendous athlete who can run like the wind and has strong secondary tools. He can play a number of positions, though he has settled in at shortstop in pro ball. King has actually done a nice job at shortstop and projects to be at least an average defender there.  There are offensive tools here as well. King has good raw power and bat to ball skills. However, his poor approach and ground ball heavy diet undercut a lot of these strengths. After a fantastic stint in the Arizona Fall League, where he tweaked his swing with the help of top prospect Kevin McGonigle, there is more hope for King heading into 2026. Former Nationals first rounder Seaver King lines one at 101 to the RCF gap and hustles into 3B for a triple. King has displayed an impressive combination of power and speed this fall. Chance to develop into an everyday player for WAS down the line. #PLiveAFL @ProspectsLive pic.twitter.com/RyXdfUgCJm— Jacob_Maxwell (@Jacob_Maxwell14) October 31, 2025 However, this is a massive year for the former first rounder. King needs to prove he can hit high minors pitching and that his stint in the AFL was more than a flash in the pan. Hopefully the new regime can also help him cut down on the chase and ground balls. The offensive warts likely prevent Seaver King from being a star, but the new regime and the AFL give me more optimism. He should start next season back in AA. Coming into the 2025 season there was a ton of buzz around Luke Dickerson. The Nats made Dickerson the richest second round pick of all time when they paid him $3.8 million to buy out his UVA commitment.  Dickerson is another high end athlete with a ton of tools. He has big time power and speed. Dickerson has also shown a feel for hitting at times as well. Early in the season things were going well for him in rookie ball and early in his Low-A stint. My 8th pick in the #ToolshedMock Industry Prospect Mock Draft:8.13: SS Luke Dickerson (WSH)Signed for first round money in the 2nd round in 2024 draft, Dickerson's pro debut was underwhelming, but he has an exciting power/speed combo if the contact can improveTook a bet on… pic.twitter.com/4McSGF96VY— Owen Hurd (@Owen_FBB) October 23, 2025 However, after being rushed back from a hand injury and also having some holes in his game exposed, Dickerson’s stats went downhill. He only hit .208 with a .641 OPS for the season. Obviously that is not good enough and things will need to pick up for the 20 year old. However, with a new development team there is still reason to hold out some hope here. Dickerson was not a full time baseball player until turning pro. He was a high level high school hockey player who spent his winters doing that. It makes sense why he would be on the raw side.  This is a big year for Dickerson though. There are a lot of young middle infielders in the system. If he does not perform next year, he will be passed by guys like Coy James, Angel Feliz and Marconi German. He has swing and miss in his game, but the strikeout rate is not totally out of control either, sitting just under 25% for the season. Dickerson also walked at a 12.5% clip last season. We will need to see his raw power translate into…

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