Bobby Witt Jr. showed Royals he’s ‘the real deal’ in his first full season of pro ball
.jpg "Bobby Witt Jr. attends American League batting practice before the MLB All Star Futures baseball game, Sunday, July 11, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Gabe Christus)")
Bobby Witt Jr. has accomplished a lot on the diamond this season, and he’s already basically become a household name among the Kansas City Royals faithful. But he’s got at least one more thing on his to-do list: A stolen base.
Witt, the Royals top prospect and one of the most highly-regarded minor-leaguers in the sport, needs one more stolen base to become the third player since 1990 with 30 or more doubles, 30 or more home runs and 30 or more stolen bases in a season.
He actually stole his 30th base on Thursday night, but the game was stopped by rain and canceled before it became official, thus the 30th steal got wiped off the books.
“I want it pretty bad,” Witt said of getting another stolen base. “I’ve got to get on base first. That’s the first thing.”
Witt, a shortstop who still has two games remaining in the minor-league season, made a visit to Kauffman Stadium on Friday night as the Royals recognized him and pitcher Jackson Kowar as the organization’s hitter of the year and pitcher of the year, respectively.
Witt has slashed .293/.363/.584 with 33 home runs, 96 RBIs, 35 doubles, 29 stolen bases and 98 runs scored in 121 games (61 at Double-A, 60 at Triple-A). This year marked his first full season in the minors since the Royals selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019.
Witt played in 37 games at the Rookie Level of the minors in 2019 following his selection out of Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas in that year’s MLB Draft.
The coronavirus pandemic eliminated the minor-league season last year.
“It has been incredible,” Witt said of the season. “I learned a lot just about myself, not only about myself on the field but also off the field like how to get myself into good routines and just get my body right to play each and every day, because it truly was my first time to have to be able to play 100-plus games in a year.”
Witt, 21, said the biggest thing he took away from this season was the reminder that he’s still playing the same game that he has grown up loving and that he didn’t have to try to do too much. He tried to keep things as simple as possible.
Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com both ranked Witt the No. 3 prospect in the minor leagues. Royals two-time All-Star second baseman Whit Merrifield has already begun referring to Witt as “the franchise.”
“What we learned is he’s the real deal, on the field, off the field,” Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said of Witt. “The more time you spend with somebody, you develop more of a trust and a belief in that individual, and all of those reasons that we selected him were solidified by the way he played all summer and the way he handles himself.”
Despite all of the attention Witt garnered prior to this season for having been a highly-regarded prospect, he entered this year with relatively minimal on-field experience or track record in professional baseball.
His first taste of professional baseball in 2019 yielded a .262/.317/.354 slash line with one home run, two doubles, five triples, 27 RBIs, 30 runs scored and nine stolen bases in 37 games.
Last year, Witt showed flashes of his potential and growth during spring training 2.0 and in the Royals alternate training site.
After having an impressive first big-league spring training camp that included several eye-popping highlight-reel moments, including a 484-foot home run, Witt began the season at Double-A and quickly became one of the top talents at that level of the minors and showed gaudy power numbers.
“I think [it came from] just with a good offseason working out,” Witt said of the home runs. “I feel like I’m more a line-drive hitter and sometimes the line drives manage to get over the fence. That’s kind of how I take my approach with it, just try to hit the ball hard. If it goes out, then it goes out. If not, sometimes you can get a little-league home run too.”
The Royals promoted him to Triple-A on July 18, at the time Witt led all Double-A players in total bases (137) and led the Double-A Central in RBIs (50) and runs scored (44). He ranked second in the Central in hits (71) and home runs (16) and had slashed .292/.367/.564 through 61 games.
“As good of a spring as he had, there were still a lot of unanswered questions,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “As confident as he looked, there were still things I think he needed to prove to himself. I just think there’s this natural transition where guys need to earn their respect in (the clubhouse).
“Part of that comes from time and experience, and others how you handle yourself. He handled himself perfectly this spring, represented himself really, played really well. I think everybody around here and the fans saw enough to be really excited.”
It would certainly be understandable if Matheny were impatient to get Witt and his seemingly boundless talent and potential on his roster and at his disposal on a regular basis.
Matheny has said he actually enjoyed being part of the discussions between the front office brain trust that includes Moore, general manager JJ Picollo, assistant general manager Scott Sharp and chairman and CEO John Sherman about all aspects and considerations regarding Witt’s development, his impact on the organization and the major-league club and the numerous scenarios and ramifications associated with a “major decision” such as the handling of Witt.
Those discussions will likely only intensify now that Witt has played as well as he has at the upper levels of the minors this season.
“As an organization we celebrate all that he has accomplished,” Moore said. “We’re very proud of who he is as a person, how he represents himself and his family, the game of baseball and the Kansas City Royals.
“He has put himself in a position to move forward and meet the next challenge. We’ll evaluate all of those things pertaining to the 26-man roster at the appropriate time.”
Royals Organizational Award Winners
George Brett Hitter of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop
Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year: Jackson Kowar, RHP
AAA Player of the Year: Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop
AAA Pitcher of the Year: Jackson Kowar, RHP
AA Player of the Year: MJ Melendez, catcher
AA Pitcher of the Year: Jonathan Heasley, RHP
High-A Player of the Year: Vinnie Pasquatino, first baseman
High-A Pitcher of the Year: Anthony Veneziano, LHP
Low-A Player of the Year: Maikel Garcia, shortstop
Low-A Pitcher of the Year: Emilio Marquez, LHP
AZL Player of the Year: Guillermo Quintana, catcher
AZL Pitcher of the Year: Heribert Garcia, RHP
DSL Blue Player of the Year: Lizandro Rodriguez, shortstop
DSL Blue Pitcher of the Year: Jose Catano, LHP
DSL White Player of the Year: Yeudi Advincola, shortstop
DSL White Pitcher of the Year: Fraicy Breton, LHP
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 9:33 PM.
