Bobby Witt Jr. Hitting Analysis (Kansas City Royals, SS)

Over the past few weeks I have seen discussions on various message boards asking if Bobby Witt Jr. is the real deal. Time will tell but I decided to take a look at his Rookie Ball stats for any clues. I honestly don't take Rookie Ball stats too seriously but when I reviewed his numbers a few interesting things caught my attention. Please note the sample size was not big but I feel strong about my findings. Overall his debut was average but promising.

1. 7.2% walk rate and 19.5% Strikeout Rate - Not a big surprise here. Witt is expected to have some swing and miss to his game. If he can keep his strikeout rate below 20%, he should be in good shape.

2. Line Drive Percentage 19.2%, Ground Ball Percentage 52%, Fly Ball Percentage 28.8% - These batted ball numbers are promising but more data is needed. I like that his line drive rate is around the league average.

3. Batted Ball Direction - Pull 40.5 %, Cent 22.1%, Oppo 37.4% - Witt really hit the ball to the opposite field in his pro debut. I am not sure if that is a sustainable number but it does highlight his gap power to all fields. Unfortunately contact percentages are not available.

Bobby Witt Jr. Rookie Ball Spray Chart (37 Games, 180 PA)

Witt only played 37 games in Rookie Ball but the chart shows a ton of gap power to all fields.















Buy Bobby Witt Jr's Cards via Ebay

Link to Bobby Witt Jr's Stats via Fangraphs

2020 Bowman Baseball - Early Pricing Trends Update

2020 Bowman has been out for a few weeks and I think its a good time to check where prices are. Please remember I am only looking at the base auto price via completed eBay auction sales for players I liked in the product. Thanks for reading.

Adam Hall - Auto is selling for a very good price. Under $10. 

Andy Pages - Los Angeles Dodgers CF – Wow! Auto is selling for over $60! I'm surprised. 

Anthony Volpe - New York Yankees SS – See above. What am I missing? 

Bryce Ball - Atlanta Braves 1B –  Price is almost $100. Didn't see that coming. Short print?

Brennen Davis - Chicago Cubs OF – Auto is selling for around $75. Not a bad price for a player with his talent.

Bobby Witt Jr. - Kansas City Royals SS – Auto is selling for around $300. High as expected.

Canaan Smith - New York Yankees OF – Auto is selling for under $20. Steal.

Ezequiel Duran - New York Yankees 2B – Auto is selling for $35-$40.

Everson Pereira - New York Yankees CF – Auto is selling for around $40. 

Erik Rivera - Los Angeles Angels OF – Prices are all over the place but mostly selling for under $20.

Glenallen Hill Jr. - Arizona Diamondbacks 2B – Auto is selling for around $10. 

Jacob Amaya - Los Angeles Dodgers SS – Auto is selling for around $20.

James Beard - Chicago White Sox OF –  Auto is selling for around $10. 

Jhon Diaz - Tampa Bay Rays CF – Auto is selling for around $75. A little high to me.

Jasson Dominguez - New York Yankees OF – Auto is selling for $1,000. Amazing.  

Lency Delgado - Chicago White Sox SS – Auto is selling for under $10.

Luis Patino - San Diego Padres P – Wow. Auto is selling for $50. Too high for me. 

Leonel Valera - Los Angeles Dodgers SS – Prices are around $10 per card. 

Micah Bello - Milwaukee Brewers OF – Prices are around $10 per card.

Miguel Vargas - Los Angeles Dodgers 3B – Prices are around $30 per card. I love the price. 

Omar Estevez - Los Angeles Dodgers 2B – Prices are around $15 per card.

Oscar Gonzalez - Cleveland Indians OF – Prices are around $15 per card.

Robert Puason - Oakland Athletics SS - Over $100 for an auto. 

Sherten Apostel - Texas Rangers 3B – Prices are around $30 per card.. Too high in my opinion.

Stephen Paolini - Atlanta Braves OF – Prices are around $20-$30 per card.

Vidal Brujan - Tampa Bay Rays 2B – Prices are around $60 per card.  

Xavier Edwards – Tampa Bay Rays SS – Card is selling for $40-$50. I honestly thought it would be higher. Odd. 

2020 MLB Draft Thoughts and Other Notes

The 2020 MLB Draft is June 10 and while there will only be 5 rounds this year, it is a deep class loaded with talent. I am one of the rare individuals that watches the draft pick for pick and I am excited to see where the future stars go. Although the draft is limited this year I expect a strong 2020 Bowman Draft product later this year. 

Other Notes

1. With no minor league baseball being played newly drafted players may not play short season baseball, which is huge and could impact prices. 

2. There have been discussions on an extended Arizona Fall League to help players get more at bats. If this happens it will be huge. 

3. The 2020 MLB draft class is deep with college pitching. I doubt this impacts the 2020 Bowman Draft checklist. I expect the checklist to be balanced across the 5 rounds.