KCKingdom
Fansided

Kansas City Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. solid in professional debut

By Leigh Oleszczak

SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE 03: A detail shot of the first round draft board during the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft at Studio 42 at the MLB Network on Monday, June 3, 2019 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NJ - JUNE 03: A detail shot of the first round draft board during the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft at Studio 42 at the MLB Network on Monday, June 3, 2019 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The hype surrounding BobbyWitt Jr., the Kansas City Royals’ second overall pick in this year’s draft, is going to grow strong over the years. He’s living up to that hype through just one start.

Kansas City Royals fans don’t have a ton to root for right now (being 25+ games under .500 will do that to you), but when it comes to the future, they’ll be rooting hard for Bobby Witt Jr. as he works his way up the minor league ladder.

Witt Jr. was the Royals’ pick in this year’s MLB Draft, going second overall. Witt Jr. is a young guy, having just turned 19 last month, so it’ll take a few years for him to get that highly anticipated MLB call-up, but when that does happen, man it’s going to be a fun time for Royals fans.

While Witt won’t be playing at Kauffman Stadium anytime soon, he made his professional debut this past Sunday and looked pretty darn good.

Witt Jr. ended his first professional game going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI to his name. He also stole one base. This was with the Arizona League, which is typically where the younger prospects go in their first year.

More from Kansas City Royals

With Witt Jr. being fresh out of high school, the earliest fans could realistically expect to see him taking batting practice at the K would be 2021 and even that could be a year too early. Eric Hosmer was drafted in 2008 and made his MLB debut in 2011, though not everyone is alike, but that’s a similar example with Hosmer having been a high school prospect at the time.

The Royals probably won’t be competitive next year either, but 2021 could be when they start to make waves again. If that’s the case, perhaps Witt Jr. gets a call-up at the end of the season if the Royals are contending for a postseason spot. Otherwise, the Royals shouldn’t rush him whatsoever.

Even with 2019 being a crummy season, Royals fans have a lot of prospects to look forward to in the coming years, with Witt Jr. highlighting that list. A lot of the other ones are the college pitchers the Royals took in last year’s draft and those guys might even be able to contribute this September if they continue to throw fire.

Royals Most Likely to be Traded at the Deadline. dark. Next

Hopefully Bobby Witt Jr. keeps on impressing in rookie ball and maybe he’ll work his way up the minor league ladder more quickly than we expect!

Home/Kansas City Royals