Kansas City Royals: Checking on my five bold predictions for 2019
By Cullen Jekel
Bold Prediction No. 4: The Royals Snag a Star with the No. 2 Draft Pick
Verdict: Too Soon to Tell
After the Baltimore Orioles snagged Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschmann with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Bobby Witt Jr., a shortstop out of high school in Texas who won the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year Award after slashing an absurd .519/.579/1.117/1.696. In 36 games, Witt Jr. uncorked 14 homers while collecting 15 doubles and eight triples while driving in 49 runs.
With the 2nd overall pick in the #MLBDraft, we have selected SS Bobby Witt, Jr. from Colleyville Heritage High School (TX). #Royals pic.twitter.com/8vZzL6DKpl
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 3, 2019
The Royals assigned Witt Jr. to their Rookie team where he appeared in another 37 games. In his first taste of professional baseball, the 19-year-old slashed .262/.317/.354/.670 with one homer, two doubles, and five triples while collecting 27 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
Will Witt Jr. be a star? It’s way too early to tell, but his high-school numbers are incredibly tantalizing. Plus, he held his own in the Arizona League. Yet at age 19, he has a lot of room to grow. The power should come, but his speed is still there, as evidence by his five triples and going nine-for-ten in stolen base attempts.
Simply stated, Witt Jr. is a lottery ticket. The Royals could’ve gone a safer route with the No. 2 pick, nabbing a collegiate hitter like first baseman Andrew Vaughn out of Cal (No. 3 to the White Sox), Vanderbilt outfielder JJ Bleday (No. 4 to the Marlins), or Texas Tech’s third baseman, Josh Jung (No. 8 to the Rangers).
Instead, Dayton Moore took a risk that could end up paying huge dividends. I loved this pick when it happened, and I love it now.
It may be too soon to tell whether the Royals nabbed a (super)star with the No. 2 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, but I’m bullish that they did.