Bobby Witt Jr (2022-2023)

 

Bobby Witt Jr 🇺🇸 (2022-2023)

Robert Andrew Witt Jr. (Colleyville, Texas, June 14, 2000). is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. He was selected second overall by the Royals in the 2019 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2022. Son of Bobby Witt (12 seasons in MLB)

Witt was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the second overall pick. Foregoing his commitment to Oklahoma, he signed with the Royals for $7.79 million and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona League Royals. Over 37 games, he batted .262/.317/.354 with one home run, 27 RBIs, and nine stolen bases in 10 attempts.

He is a player with a lot of potential; it's his rookie season stats: .254 AVG, .722 OPS, 80 RBI, and 20 Home runs. He also made it to the final contention for the American League Rookie of the Year, which was won by Julio Rodriguez (Mariners). 

One of his standout qualities is his speed, being one of the fastest in MLB. In this analysis, we will look at his offensive performance, plate discipline, and base-running speed during the 2022 season and part of 2023 (up until August 12th). I've decided to include part of the current season to showcase his improvements compared to last year.

If you have any questions regarding the types of pitches (Fastball, Changeup, etc.), here is all the necessary information

Enjoy it 🙌

The data provided is from Baseball Savant.

1-Hits

Bobby Witt Jr. received 2,332 pitches in 2022, and in 2023 (up until August 12), he has received 1,930 pitches. He has faced 11 types of pitches during these two seasons, the majority being FS Fastball at 36.79%, followed by Slider at 18.40%, and Sinker at 12.86% of the total pitches.

With 150 hits in 2022, he was able to drive in 80 runs, including 85 singles, 31 doubles, 6 triples, and 20 home runs. The most impressive part is that as of the current date in the 2023 season, Witt Jr. has already surpassed several of his 2022 records, and he still has one more month to play in the regular season.

Before comparing both seasons, let's take a look at all his hits and the directions they took.

It's interesting to note that despite having the majority of his hits in the center field (51.9%), he also has a significant presence in the left(29.7%) and right field(18.4%). He's a player who doesn't hit many home runs but with his speed, he can turn singles into doubles or triples.

You can see that many singles were hit in the infield, which demonstrates his great ability to run from home plate to first base. He had an average of 4.13 seconds to reach first base in 2022 (ranked 11th in this category). 

Also, he ranked second in Sprint Speed with 30.4 ft/sec (33.3 km/h), just behind Corbin Carroll(DiamondBacks) with 30.7 ft/sec (33.6 km/h) in 2022.

In the chart below, we can see that his favorite pitch to get hits is the FS Fastball with 28.62%, followed by the Slider 21.01%. 

The Heatmap reflects his impressive hit distribution, covering the entire strike zone, with a significant number of hits made in the lower right area (outside the strike zone) with 35 hits. The fewest hits were connected in the Upper Strike zone, with only 10.51%.

Now we can see a comparison of the hits he made in 2022 vs. 2023. The first thing that stands out is that he has improved his contact with pitches other than Fastballs. He has improved in every aspect, not only in the overall stats but also in the advanced stats, where it is evident that in 2023, he is exerting more power in his hits.

With 116 games recorded so far in the 2023 season, Witt Jr. has managed to increase his home runs to 21(20 in 2022), along with 7 triples(6 triples), 34 stolen bases(30 in 2022), and maintaining an average above .250. With 46 games remaining, Bobby Witt Jr is on track to have his best season yet and has plenty of games to surpass his records.

Here below you can see a summary of his best plays in 2022, as well as his performance at the plate.

2- Speed

Now let's talk about the most important aspect, his speed is unique and is a headache for the infielders as they have to make quick throws to the base. Before showing you his numbers, here below is a video displaying his incredible speed. 

In 2022, he was in contention with Trea Turner for most Bolts achieved in the season. A Bolt is any run that exceeds 30 ft/sec (32 km/h), in this category, Witt Jr. finished second with 107 Bolts, well above the rest of the batters considering it's his first season in MLB. 

His average speed from home plate to first base was also the second best, behind Shohei Ohtani(100 competitive runs or more). (I must clarify that this statistic shows the time taken, not the speed; I misspoke.)

It's incredible that at this point in the 2023 season, Bobby Witt Jr. already has 104 Bolts. He still maintains his Sprint Speed at 30.4 ft/sec, behind the phenomenon Elly De La Cruz, who averages 30.6 ft/sec (33 km/h). Considering that the MLB's average speed is 27 ft/sec (29.6 km/h), Bobby Witt Jr. is the fastest at his position (Shortstop) in both seasons. 

To conclude, in 2022, he had 30 Stolen Bases, ranking 5th among the best. This year, 2023, has been different due to the increase in the size of the bases and the new pitcher's clock rule, which has led to an increase in the number of stolen bases. As of the date of August 12th, Ronald Acuña Jr. leads with 55 Stolen Bases. In Witt Jr.'s case, he has surpassed his personal record with 34 stolen bases so far.

3- Plate Discipline

In the chart below, we can observe his combined strikes from both seasons. We can see that the FS Fastball was the pitch with the most strikes (both called strikes and swinging strikes) at 39.50% of the total, followed by the Slider at 17.57%. When comparing both seasons, his distribution of strikes has changed. In 2022, he had a higher percentage of strikes in the center of the strike zone (27.79%), whereas in 2023, it's 24.81%.

In the chart below, we can see a comparison of his hits vs. strikeouts based on the type of pitch Bobby Witt Jr. faced. Further down, we have the same comparison, but this time based on the number of outs before batting.

With one out was where he had the most hits, with 102 hits and 88 strikeouts. Also, with runners in scoring position (RISP) in 2022, Witt Jr. had a batting average of .323, .866 OPS, and 41 hits.