King, a 21-year-old shortstop/outfielder from Wake Forest, spent his first two seasons at Division II Wingate, where he hit .381 and .411. He transferred to Wake Forest and continued production in the ACC – he hit .308 with a .954 OPS last season for the Demon Deacons.
“If you had told me yesterday that I’d be a top-10 pick, I wouldn’t have believed you,” King said Sunday night. “And it’s a reality today, so I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
King said the Nationals were not on his radar until about 30 minutes before the draft. By then, they thought he would go between the 12th and 24th picks. King grew up playing with Brady House, who was the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 Nationals, and was at his draft party. He never thought that one day he would replace House.
Wingate was the only team that offered him out of high school. He thought he would play four seasons and then be “a normal guy”, as he put it. But he had a good freshman season and even better sophomore year after that. He tore up the Cape Cod Baseball League, hitting .424 with a 1.021 OPS, before playing his junior season at Wake Forest after transferring. That’s when he realized it was possible to become a major league player.
A right-handed hitter, King is adept at sending line drives to all parts of the field. The primary challenge against him is that he needs to improve his plate discipline. Defensively, King is most comfortable at shortstop but said he can play anywhere. At Wake Forest, he played second base, shortstop, third base, and center field.
“He plays at a speed that very few people want when he wants to play,” said Danny Haas, the Nationals’ vice president of amateur scouting. He said the team views King as a shortstop moving forward. “…He’s an incredible athlete, and we’re glad to have him.”
Lomavita, 21, hit .302 with a .903 OPS in three seasons at Cal. Scouts described him as an aggressive hitter who could run the bases well for catcher. Dickerson, 18, is a three-sport athlete, also playing football and hockey. Scouts believe he has plenty of upside moving forward, but the Nationals will need to pry him from committing to Virginia.
King, Lomavita and Dickerson were the first selections by Haas, the team’s new scouting director. Chris Cline had served in that role since 2009, when Mike Rizzo became general manager, but was reassigned to special assistant to the GM. Kline was responsible for drafting Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon. But in recent years, the Nationals have struggled to draft and develop talent – particularly hitters.
Sunday marked the beginning of a new era under a regime led by Haas, senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek and national crosschecker Reed Dunn, who returned to the team after being scouted early in his career.
“It was a blast,” Haas said. “Everything came together very well. I’ve worked with Brad for a long time, Reed was a key addition to the staff and it was a seamless transition between the three of us.
The Nationals, who tied for the fifth-worst record in the majors last year, finished 10th due to recently changed draft lottery rules. The 2022 collective bargaining agreement prevents teams paying into MLB’s revenue sharing system from drafting in the lottery in consecutive years. So even if the Nationals won the first drawing of the lottery in December, they were ineligible to pick higher than 10th. (Teams that receive revenue sharing funds cannot select from the lottery for three consecutive years.)
Washington entered the season with two picks – Nos. 10 and 44 – on the first night of the draft. On Saturday, they acquired the 39th pick from the Kansas City Royals as part of the return of reliever Hunter Harvey. The 39th pick has a slot value of $2.395 million, which increased the Nationals’ bonus pool to $13,895,100 – giving them more financial flexibility. The slot values for the 10th and 44th picks are $5,953,800 and $2,122,200.
Haas, Ciolek and Dunn emphasized selecting athletic players who worked hard while making adjustments as their careers progressed. He also said he has targeted up-the-middle players, which fits the profile of the three players selected on Sunday.
Ciolek said King has an “amazing ability to barrel the baseball”, but added that the player development staff will focus on making better swing decisions so he can do damage in the strike zone. The team is encouraged by Dickerson’s progress despite the late start to the high school season and thinks he will develop well by focusing on baseball.
“The underlying theme here is that all three of these guys have made tremendous progress in their platform year from last year to this year,” Ciolek said. “All three of these guys answered the bell this spring, and we felt really confident and good about our process. And, ultimately, we’re so happy to end up with these three.”
The draft will continue on Monday with Rounds 3 to 10 and conclude on Tuesday with Rounds 11 to 20.
Comment: Standout outfielder Griffin Burkholder of Freedom (South Riding) High was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 63rd pick in the second round. The West Virginia commit caught the attention of scouts with his rare blend of speed and power.
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