In recognition of their outstanding 2026 seasons, the Washington Nationals named the following players their 2026 Minor League Players of the Year. Washington will recognize the winners as a part of a pregame ceremony on Monday, Aug. 31, and the players will take part in a Season Plan Holder autograph session following batting practice. The winners were selected by Washington’s player development leadership.
- Hitter of the Year – Infielder Seaver King
- Pitcher of the Year – Right-Handed Pitcher Miguel Sime Jr.
- Defensive Player of the Year – Outfielder Andrew Pinckney
- Baserunner of the Year – Infielder Eli Willits
- Nationals Way Award – Catcher Maxwell Romero Jr.
King, 23, leads Washington’s Minor League system in average (1st, .316) and OPS (1st, .942) and ranks in on-base percentage (2nd, .397), slugging percentage (3rd, .545), hits (3rd, 118), total bases (4th, 204), runs scored (6th, 77) and extra-base hits (T6th, 43). King set career marks in nearly every offensive category, including home runs (19), RBI (70), walks (44), runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS.
King opened the season with Harrisburg before he was promoted to Rochester on May 19 after 35 games with the Senators. He posted a 42-game on-base streak from April 2 to May 28. During the streak, he hit .337 (55-for-163) with 12 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 24 walks, four hit by pitches, six stolen bases, 36 runs scored and 36 RBI. The streak is tied for the 10th-longest streak in the Minor Leagues this season.
Washington’s No. 2 prospect and the 43rd overall prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America, King has hit safely in 17 of his last 20 games, including a 12-game hitting streak from Aug. 8-21. During this 20-game stretch, he’s clubbed nine home runs while posting a .373/.447/.747 slash line. King was selected in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of Wake Forest University.
Sime Jr., 19, leads Washington’s Minor League system with 130 strikeouts and is tied for second with 23 starts. He leads all of Minor League Baseball (min. 65.0 IP) with 16.18 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and is second with 4.73 hits per 9.0 innings and a .153 opponents’ average.
In his first professional season, Sime Jr. is 2-3 with a 2.99 ERA, 130 strikeouts, a .153 opponents’ average and just three home runs allowed in 72.1 innings between Single-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington. He was selected to represent the Washington Nationals organization in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game in Philadelphia.
Sime Jr. threw five no-hit innings with four strikeouts on July 24 against Hudson Valley (NYY). He followed with a career-high 10 strikeouts on July 31 against Frederick (BAL). His start on July 24 began a stretch during which he went 2-0 with a 1.11 ERA (3 ER/24.1 IP) with 40 strikeouts, 14 walks and a .122 opponents’ average over the course of six starts.
The right-hander is Washington’s No.9 prospect, per Baseball America and its No. 10, according to MLBPipeline.com. Sime Jr. was selected in the fourth round in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Poly Prep High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Pinckney, 25, led all Nationals Minor League outfielders with 211 putouts and ranked second among qualifiers with a .991 fielding percentage. He tallied four outfield assists and committed just two errors along the way. Pinckney recorded a 1.000 fielding percentage across 52 games played in right field and left field.
The Tuscaloosa, Ala. native was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Alabama. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 5 and recorded a home run the following day as his first career hit. He became the seventh player in Nationals history (2005-pres.) to hit a home run as his first career hit.
Pinckney hit .271 with 11 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 51 RBI, 37 walks, 18 stolen bases and 63 runs scored in 94 games with Triple-A Rochester. He posted a .345 on-base percentage and a .425 slugging percentage prior to having his contract selected by Washington.
Willits, 18, has made a large impact on the base paths this season, where he leads the organization with 57 stolen bases and 96 runs scored. His 57 stolen bases are tied for eighth in all of Minor League Baseball, while his 96 runs are good for 13th. Willits is one of only two players in all of Minor League Baseball with at least 50 stolen bases and at least 90 runs scored this season.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Willits recorded four games with three stolen bases and nine games in which he had multiple stolen bases. Willits began the season with Single-A Fredericksburg, stealing 29 bases in 47 games, before moving to High-A Wilmington, where he’s stolen 28 bases in 59 games.
Willits is the Nationals’ top-ranked prospect in Washington’s system and the No. 4-ranked prospect in Major League Baseball, per MLBPipeline.com. He ranks among Nationals farmhands in on-base percentage (1st, .407), doubles (6th, 23), hits (6th, 103), OPS (7th, .854) and RBI (9th, 68).
Romero Jr., 25, receives the award given to the Nationals Minor Leaguer who best demonstrates the professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, determination and work ethic required to play the game the “Washington Nationals Way.”
Romero Jr. has set career marks in nearly every offensive category in his fifth professional season. He spent time across two levels, hitting .249 with 17 doubles, 21 home runs, 57 RBI, 47 walks, and 50 runs scored in 85 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. Among all Nationals farmhands, Romero Jr. ranks in OPS (T3rd, .887), slugging percentage (5th, .522), home runs (6th, 21) and on-base percentage (7th, .365).
In the month of August, Romero Jr. has slugged .638 with five doubles and eight home runs. He clubbed four home runs during a three-game stretch from Aug. 5-7.
The Miami native played at the University of Miami and was selected in the ninth round of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Year Winners
2026 INF Seaver King (Hitter of the Year), RHP Miguel Sime Jr. (Pitcher of the Year), OF Andrew Pinckney (Defensive Player of the Year), INF Eli Willits (Baserunner of the Year), C Maxwell Romero Jr. (Nationals Way)
2025 INF/OF Phillip Glasser, (Hitter of the Year), RHP Riley Cornelio (Pitcher of the Year), OF Cristhian Vaquero (Defensive Player of the Year), INF Seaver King (Baserunner of the Year), OF Andrew Pinckney (Nationals Way)
2024 OF Dylan Crews, (Hitter of the Year), RHP Travis Sykora (Pitcher of the Year), OF Elijah Green (Defensive Player of the Year), INF/OF Darren Baker (Baserunner of the Year), OF Daylen Lile and RHP Brad Lord (Nationals Way)
2023 OF James Wood (Hitter of the Year), LHP Andrew Alvarez (Pitcher of the Year), INF Trey Lipscomb (Defensive Player of the Year), OF Johnathon Thomas (Baserunner of the Year), OF Jacob Young (Nationals Way)
2022 OF Jeremy De La Rosa and OF James Wood (co-Hitter of the Year), RHP Cade Cavalli (Pitcher of the Year), Jordy Barley (Defensive Player of the Year), Jacob Young (Baserunner of the Year), Jake Alu (Nationals Way)
2021 INF/OF Jake Noll (Player of the Year), RHP Cade Cavalli (Pitcher of the Year), OF Donovan Casey (Defensive Player of the Year), INF Jordy Barley (Baserunner of the Year), INF/OF Jack Dunn (Nationals Way)
2020 No awards due to the cancellation of the Minor League Season
2019 OF Yadiel Hernandez (Player of the Year), LHP Tim Cate (Pitcher of the Year), INF Luis García (Defensive Player of the Year), INF/OF Cole Freeman (Baserunner of the Year), C Jakson Reetz (Boone)
2018 INF Carter Kieboom (Player of the Year), LHP Ben Braymer/RHP Wil Crowe (co-Pitcher of the Year), INF Jake Noll (Boone)
2017 OF Daniel Johnson (Player of the Year), RHP Wander Suero (Pitcher of the Year), C Raudy Read (Boone)
2016 1B Jose Marmolejos (Player of the Year), RHP Reynaldo Lopez (Pitcher of the Year), OF Rafael Bautista (Boone)
2015 1B Jose Marmolejos (Player of the Year), RHP Austin Voth (Pitcher of the Year), RHP Austen Williams (Boone)
2014 OF Steven Souza Jr. (Player of the Year), RHP Lucas Giolito (Pitcher of the Year), INF Wilmer Difo (Boone)
2013 OF Billy Burns (Player of the Year), RHP Taylor Jordan (Pitcher of the Year), 2B Tony Renda (Boone)
2012 INF Matthew Skole (Player of the Year), RHP Nathan Karns (Pitcher of the Year)
2011 INF Steve Lombardozzi (Player of the Year), RHP Brad Peacock (Pitcher of the Year)
2010 OF Tyler Moore (Player of the Year), LHP Tom Milone (Pitcher of the Year)
2009 C Derek Norris (Player of the Year), RHP Brad Meyers (Pitcher of the Year)
2008 OF Leonard Davis (Player of the Year), RHP Jordan Zimmermann (Pitcher of the Year)
2007 OF Justin Maxwell (Player of the Year), LHP John Lannan (Pitcher of the Year)
2006 INF Kory Casto (Player of the Year), RHP Zechry Zinicola (Pitcher of the Year)
2005 INF Kory Casto (Player of the Year), LHP Michael O'Connor (Pitcher of the Year)