Make a wish! Nats' 2024 first-rounder clubs first pro homer on his birthday
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It¡¯s hard to conjure up a better birthday gift than this.
After getting a brief (and homer-less) taste of pro ball last summer, Seaver King mashed his first pro long ball in High-A Wilmington's 4-3 loss to visiting Aberdeen on Friday night at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. The Nationals' No. 4 prospect added a single and is riding a seven-game hit streak after opening the year 3-for-35.
King, the 10th overall pick by the Nationals in 2024, had a productive season for Single-A Fredericksburg in his first pro stint. He slashed .295/.367/.385 in 20 games, notching 23 hits, three triples and 10 RBIs. He also swiped 10 bags.
But the long ball eluded him in ¡®24, and through 15 games in cold northeast environments in ¡®25, he still had not cleared the fences. A new year of life though, brought about new beginnings for King, who teed off on a 1-1 breaking ball in the bottom of the sixth inning.
IronBirds hurler Riley Cooper, a lefty sidearmer, went middle-outside with the pitch. King waited on it, squaring his hands and roping it over the left-center-field wall.
King has shown potent power throughout his career, impressing scouts with 16 jacks during his junior season at Wake Forest. He's mostly been hit-over-power -- and dynamic on the basepaths with 16 steals in 17 attempts -- thus far since signing, but now at age 22, he can add one more notch to his professional belt.