Nationals Prospect Sam Petersen Earns Prestigious Award at Arizona Fall League
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It's been a good showing for Washington Nationals prospects in the Arizona Fall League thus far.
Seaver King, who many didn't view in the same light following his underwhelming performance this past season, has turned things around. He's been one of the best surprises in the AFL and is reminding people why he was taken 10th overall in the 2024 draft.
Jake Bennett, the teams' second-round pick in 2022, has flashed some high-strikeout stuff. That's a huge sigh of relief for the Nationals after he wasn't able to ring up many batters in his return from Tommy John surgery this year.
However, there's another Washington prospect competing in the desert who might be the most impressive out of all, as Sam Petersen has taken his game to the next level in the Arizona Fall League to earn himself an impressive award.
Sam Petersen Named AFL's Hitter of the Week
Selected in the eighth round of the 2024 draft, Petersen is an under-the-radar prospect. He had an impressive showing this year, though, albeit in just a 57-game sample size. Still, he finished the season with a .310/.416/.489 slash line, seven home runs, 17 extra-base hits and 28 RBIs across Washington's rookie, Single-A and High-A affiliates.
Because Petersen didn't get a full year of work in during what was supposed to be his first full professional season, the Nationals sent him out to the Arizona Fall League to see what he could do against some of the best prospects across the sport.
It's safe to say he has turned some heads. After slashing .421/.476/.842 with two home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and 16 total bases for the Scottsdale Scorpions this past week, he was named the AFL Hitter of the Week.
Sam Petersen has been named the Arizona Fall League Hitter of the Week!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 4, 2025
The @Nationals prospect slashed .421/.476/.842 with two home runs in five games: https://t.co/cjiwmzK7Ov pic.twitter.com/PBEsbC1kzT
Petersen led the AFL in home runs and total bases this past week, while also ranking second in hits (eight) and slugging percentage (.476). He was also third in OPS (1.318) and helped the Scorpions win five out of six games.
During this showcase event, he has slashed .333/.439/.604 with three homers and 13 RBIs through 14 games played, a great showing for Petersen as he has started to heat up. It will be interesting to see how he finishes in the AFL. Right now, he's currently ranked 24th in Washington's pipeline, something that should change if he continues this level of production.
Not much was expected out of Petersen as an eighth-round pick, but if he can keep this up during next year's minor league season, then he'll be a prospect to watch for the Nationals going forward.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai