The Washington Nationals have a ton of young guys on the MLB roster, but one of those guys could be fighting for their job moving forward. Ryan tells you who that is to start off the show. Then, Ryan gets into the pros & cons of 1st round pick Seaver King. Seaver King has a high ceiling, but also comes with a low floor. Lastly, our guy CJ Abrams made his All-Star debut yesterday meanwhile Kyle Finnegan warmed up the bench in the bullpen.
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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. As the second half of the Nat season starts in just two days, who do you think is under the most pressure entering the second half and there could be a job in the line? And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first list in every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course I'm your host Ryan Clary. You can catch me over on Twitter @RyanClary11 as well as her show page @ello_nationals. For our latest nationals news and notes make sure to check us out over on Twitter and of course while you're at it make sure to search up Lockdown Nationals wherever you get your podcast including over on YouTube hit that subscribe button for me drop a thumbs up leave a comment as well what do you think of the show also maybe drop a little hint of what you want to hear talk about on the second half of today's show that made no sense in English but you understand where I'm coming from drop a comment if you'd like no big deal if not but drop a comment why not later on in today's show CJ Abrams made his all-star debut yesterday and of course the nationals they had two all-stars one of them played one of them did not Kyle Finnegan did not get to pitch a lot of that discussion for you a little bit later on and also one thing that everybody's talking about with the all-star game I shared the same sentiment I'll share that with you and the third segment of today's show the second segment let's take a look the pros and the cons of nationals first round pick Seaver King the shortstop from Wake Forest there are a lot of pros but I gotta say there are some cons that you have to be kind of weary about so we'll have that discussion for you a little bit later on of today's program but we start off with discussing the second half of an ads there is one player in my opinion that faces a ton of pressure and I think that also has to do with the prospects coming up it's probably not who you think though this guy is having a little bit of a back bounce back season you could say but still there is a lot of pressure facing this one player I'll explain that but today's episode is brought to you by prize picks the easiest most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize picks dot com slash locked on MLB in use code all lowercase locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to a hundred dollars and again the question of today's show and really something that I'll be following very closely throughout the second half is who is under the most pressure right now if you look across the diamond CJ from spaces no pressure he is your shortstop he is going to be a guy he is one of the foundational pieces of the washington nationals that's out of the question mckenzie gore he's part of the foundation as well just say a gray he's part of the foundation as well cade kavali all these guys fit into a pretty nice puzzle here with the nationals James wood he's in that equation as well even Jacob young in my opinion is pretty safe at this moment in time one young guy though that we haven't really talked about too much Luis Garcia junior now Luis Garcia junior is quietly having a very solid season and we've all kind of known the knocks throughout the years he's not good defensively he's not consistent enough at the plate now luckily for Luis his numbers are a little inflated considering all things here because he did have a very solid last few weeks here in the season you know when on that power stretch and now he's sitting at 11 home runs on the season which is a career high for him hit nine last year and again a ton of opportunities but last year was a relatively pretty disappointing season for Garcia now we head into this year and the way that the nationals have kind of stacked their prospects Luis Garcia has a lot of pressure on him in my opinion because again you have Brady house is one of your future third baseman I don't think that's any question about it he'll be over at your hot corner for years to come CJ Abrams he will be your shortstop if not your shortstop he'll be your second baseman we'll get into that discussion a little bit later on why I think that could happen maybe but as far as Luis Garcia goes he's not going to play third base he's not going to play first base second base is really his only option at this point in time Luis Garcia is under a tremendous amount of pressure in my opinion especially with the addition of Seever King now you add him into the fold here let's take a look at Luis Garcia's junior's numbers number one as we said he has had a pretty much a renaissance year considering all things here let's look at his baseball Savant numbers because these are things that I really kind of value and again analytics some people that may go over their head but hear me out for this this is real factual stuff and a lot of these things he is improved in basically every category his expected batting average from 2023 is in the 65th percentile that is now climbed up into the 92nd percentile his expected slugging in 2023 was in the 37th percentile that is now up in the 82nd percentile his average exit velocity last year in 2023 is in the 29th percentile it's now up around league average in the 47th percentile his barrel percentage was in the 25th percentile in 2023 that has helped to the 54th percentile his squared up percentage last year well didn't have that but he was not squaring up the baseball that is in the 75th percentile his strikeout percentage was in the 96th percentile last year then it's in the 84th percentile still very good and also his fielding range last year 15th percentile this year 89th percentile you have seen the jumps that Luis Garcia has made this year and again the numbers prove that Luis Garcia is under the most pressure if you're a Washington Nationals player right now he's batting 281 on the year he's got a 757 OPS he's got an OPS plus of 116 meaning he is an above league average hitter right now in my opinion Luis Garcia is getting the job done now but what is it going to take for him to kind of keep that job at second base because again Luis Garcia is 24 years old he's still a young player it doesn't feel like he's a young player because he's been up since he was 19 20 years old when he came up during that covid season and he looked pretty solid by the way for a 20 year old Luis Garcia though he's kind of one of those forgotten people of the Nationals you don't really think of him right now as someone who's going to be a building block you have James Wood and you have CJ Williams and you've got your starting rotation key baroese is also under a lot of pressure but in my opinion you look at Luis Garcia Jr and the way that he is producing he's producing around an average second baseman you could improve maybe a little defensively and also offensively as well but Luis Garcia is putting the ball in play 45 RBI's this season he's getting the job done there only 50 strikeouts Garcia is one of those guys where you could make a case for him to be your second baseman of the future he's got some service time left he's really got no options either by the way so he's going to be in the major leagues unless you're in a DFA him which wouldn't have been that surprising to me considering all things and spring training in my opinion but he has taken this job and he is starting to run with it but the question is how long will he have this job because you've got a lot of guys now you've got Seaver King in the full where is he going to fit again the way that this kind of stacks up in my head Dylan Cruz will be your center fielder James Wood will be your right fielder and then in left field at this point in time maybe you throughout CJ Abrams maybe it's a veteran that you sign maybe it's Robert Hassel III who comes up and has a renaissance but then you look around the infield you're gonna have CJ Abrams and or Seaver King second base maybe it's one of those Queen Abrams or King Brady House's third base in that first base it's whoever's coming up through the system maybe it's Riley Adams maybe it's Juan Yepes the way that he's been swinging the bat you don't really have that many holes to fill in Luis Garcia could be left as the odd man out here in DC now what does that leave us well you have options the option that is likely in my opinion is that he is going to be your second baseman for the duration of his contract here in DC which is not a bad thing by the way and then also on the other hand maybe you trade him this offseason which in my opinion is not that bad of a route to take some people will take a shot on Luis Garcia now again you could make the case for him to be the second baseman of the future but the likelihood of that happening in my opinion at this moment is a little lower than what others think because again the way that this Nationals team and that really the future and the dream that Mike Rizzo has I feel like that leaves Luis Garcia hanging in the dust a little bit and is that a bad thing not necessarily but still the kid has made improvements and you've seen it if he can continue this way and he can stay healthy and stay just front foot forward you might have something with Luis Garcia but he is under a tremendous amount of pressure right now in my opinion this second half will determine his future as a second baseman for the Washington Nationals that is why I think he has the most pressure even more so than key bear more so than CJ Abrams more so than James Wood the least Garcia is the guy to watch in the second half of the season what will the Nationals do with him moving forward that is the key question to look at as we continue to go over these next few months for the second half of this Major League Baseball season thank you all for making locked on Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast let's get into some pros and cons of Seaver King because he's got some pros but he does have some cons I've got some analytics and some other notes to share to you about Seaver King after we tell you guys about our friends over at supply house and guys get supplies from the site that's made from the skill trades supplyhouse.com supplyhouse.com is a reliable way to order plumbing HVAC and electrical products online they're easy to use website is packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done 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Now let's get back into it with the Nationals first round pick Seaver King, 10th overall out of Wake Forest, Division 2 Wing Gate, great story coming out of Wing Gate transfer to Wake Forest one year top ten pick what a story the Nationals likely cut a deal with him if I'm being honest but I guess we'll see once the numbers come out officially but as we see here today there are pros and then there are cons what do we start with let's start with the cons one on the positive how about that there are some cons with Seaver King number one this is not analytical he only had one successful year at the division one level now was that a very successful division one season absolutely he was voted all ACC his numbers were really good and a 954 OPS the guy hit the crap out of the baseball but again there are cons hidden within those stat lines number one his chase percentage is that a 32% meanwhile the average for division one was 23% he chases a lot and that is what we have seen with CJ Abrams which has been fixed at the major league level still chases a little bit much in my opinion Luis Garcia someone we just talked about he also has a high chase percentage and if you look at other top picks like the Kansas City Royals Jack Kaggle and own from the University of Florida huge power massive potential he chases a lot as well he was up there with Kaggs from the University of Florida Seaver King is one of those guys though where I don't know how much power he will hit at at the major league level so you're gonna have to put the ball and play well if you're gonna be chasing in a lot of pitches this is kind of a project that the Nationals are really gonna have to hone in on and again he does have solid contact you did see the exit velocities being up there and that was all great but right now is a time where in my opinion the Nationals should have drafted a very high floor prospect this is a high ceiling prospect but he's also got a low floor you don't really know that much about him at this point in time considering he went from D2 to D1 and was only at D1 for one year it was a very good season but still what can you do over the course of 162 games how can the Nationals maximize that potential Seaver King that is one of the things I'm really gonna be looking at as he gets down to the minor league levels maybe within the next few weeks or so so that's one of the cons that I have for number two another con a negative 7.9 degree launch angle meaning he has a ton of ground balls a ton and again that's supported by his 51% ground ball percentage now some people may like that I don't get the ball up in the air find a level line drive put the ball up in the hour see it 10 rows in the seats that's just the way that baseball is now is this something that's going to scare you away no the guy is still coming into his own but these are all noticeable things where at the plate specifically and again if you've noticed it it's all at the plate right now that is the big overwhelming question is can the Nationals patch up these holes and figure out to make it a strength maybe someday that is a big question that the Nationals will have to have and can they do it that's a big question a big question because again you have seen the Nationals take big swings and guys before like Elijah Green they have not fixed that problem it is a huge problem in fact it has not improved Brady house some people consider that to be a little bit of an issue they've seemingly patched that up as well right now it's he's in triple a as a 21 year old so we'll see what the Nationals can do but let's get into the pros because there are a lot of pros with Seaver King number one he's on an upward trajectory just coming into his own that is an opinion by me I think that's shared by a lot of people this guy is breaking out he is coming into his own was not scouted heavily division one went to division two wing gate dominated there in two years two years then transferred to one of the better programs in all of baseball college baseball in particular but he's coming into his own that is something that you always want to see someone who's on an upward trajectory not taking steps back he has seamlessly taken a step up at every level that he has been at another pro this guy can be moved all over the diamond in fact I probably project him as someone who will be not a utility guy but he's gonna be one of those guys where wherever you have a hole that's where he'll play he can play shortstop and that's where he thinks he can play his most comfortable baseball by the way at shortstop he can play second base he can play third base and a lot of people project him easily to play in center field who could be an above average center fielder someday those are all really big pluses another one he's a really good runner a plus runner and he's a great athlete a great athlete this guy can be moved all over the diamond again runs well does all the things that you ask him for when you're a young guy a young prospect in particular this guy was not handed anything he's going to earn it he plays the right way and again I think that kind of just gets overlooked in a lot of times with scouting players Gunnar Henderson plays the right way was overlooked and now he's Gunnar Henderson an MVP front runner at this point one of the faces of baseball I'm not saying see for king to want to be that but still he plays the right way and that's where I really like to see another one quick hands very quick hands I've seen a lot of people over the last few days talk about his quick hands kind of when a ball is running in on him he can easily turn it and hit it into the gap there Seaver King is one of those guys where I'm not sure if it's special quick hands but it's certainly noticeable that this guy can really turn on a baseball and when guys are me trying to kind of burn you in he could really hit the ball out this guy does have some power within him and again a lot of obviously we didn't get to see the Cape Cod League but with him hitting with wood bats people were really talking about him hitting the crap out of the baseball at the Cape Cod League over the last two seasons so that's a really kind of good thing to see with a young college player so again with all this coming to us there's a lot of pros but there are also some cons and the big question is that we have continued to ask ourselves these last few days is can the national solve those issues that's up for you to decide maybe we'll talk about that here coming up soon but it's way too early to project but right now the nationals they do have an exciting young prospect with Seaver King and that is something that we can all agree on at this moment in time thank you all for making a lockdown that's your first listen every single day is we are free and available wherever you get your podcast now let's talk about the all-star game CJ Abrams made his debut what did he do did you not watch well if you didn't watch i got you covered right here i'll talk about it wasn't too much but we'll talk about it after we tell you guys about some of our very good friends over at e-bay motors and guys passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your rider die alive ebay motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits led headlights and more whether you're getting the speed power or style ebay motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one rider die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with ebay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with ebay motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the price you want it's easy to make your car the mvp and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebay motors dot com eligible items only exclusions apply ebay guarantee fit only available to us customers you know we love talking stats here at locked on Rockies here's one that's super simple to remember discover automatically doubles the cashback you've earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with cashback match that means with discover you could turn 150 cashback to 300 dollars that's right you could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network you earn and discover doubles see terms at discover dot com slash credit card we get back into it here locked on nationals if you haven't subscribed already over on youtube make sure to look us up locked on nationals hit that subscriber button or do what you want watch over on youtube don't watch on front youtube maybe you listen to audio maybe you listen to Spotify Apple podcast wherever it is you'll find us there so just look up locked on nationals again follow me over on twitter while you're at it as well Ryan clary 11 and as well as her show page at elo underscore nationals our young bright star c j abrams made his all-star debut yesterday made a nice little play in the field thought that was really cool but we all want to know what did he do at the plate it was a quick strikeout for poor poor old c j abrams it wasn't the prettiest at that but again it's the all-star game one thing that kind of stood out to me was that c j abrams doing all these interviews this kid what you see is what you get and again he's not a kid he's 23 years old i'm 24 years old you know what i'm saying this kid just what you see is what you get for him he is a baseball junkie he is a lifer in baseball this is the one who's going to put in his work i guarantee you he's probably hitting the cages as we speak right now that's just the way that he is he is a baseball junkie through and through so it was cool to see him up in the all-star game yesterday he made a nice little play defensively made the routine play c j abrams did well congrats for but that wasn't ugly at that in the all-star game it's whatever you strike out you're going against an all-star listen it's whatever c j abrams he's a good player we all love him he should be there he deserves to be there he's an all-star it's one at that you had to be pretty nervous going in there replacing tray turner by the way again someone else who is also drafted by the Padres traded to the nationals i thought that was a pretty cool moment as well he saw a lot of former nationals on that stage yesterday but that's a different discussion for a different day kyle finigan he did not pitch poor him i feel bad he went all the way to Texas he was and again i thought it was really funny when they were introducing the names there this is not a knock on nationals fans but in your kyle finigan not many people know you there was a zero vation for him whatsoever he kind of stood up gave like the little princess wave up there i thought that was pretty cool kind of funny kyle finigan didn't get the pitch whatever then and l didn't get to go in the ninth inning there to have him come in for the save potentially but kyle finigan got a little rest he deserves it he needs it so hopefully get ready for the second half here also real quick though this is what everyone's talking about it's such a light up for us podcasters but you get the point bring back just wearing the jerseys wear your team's jersey these all-star jersey stink you could wear them for the uh home run derby in my opinion that's fine but bring back the home jerseys just just wear them just wear your team's jersey simple as that that's all i asked for so all-star game was fun american league won what is that 10 in the last 11 years luckily there's nothing to play for anymore so it was a fun exhibition match paul skeins was electric corbin burns look solid the stars they showed out it's always a cool event so we'll see you next year for the all-star game and maybe at this time next year you've got james what in the home run derby just saying we'll have that for you now we won't have that for you but we're locked on nationals we're gonna talk about the nationals every day so check us out we'll see you on the flip side have a good one enjoy the day off national's baseball comes to us in two more days a prime members you can listen to this lock-down podcast add free on amazon music download the the Amazon Music app today. 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