Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight: Bobby Witt Jr. is Heating Up

It’s Thursday. Well, actually it is fantasy baseball third base day at Fantasy Alarm. As part of our Player Spotlight Series, we break down a fantasy baseball third baseman every week and let you know if he is still fantasy-relevant, should be added off your fantasy baseball waiver wire, or should be sent in a trade package as a sell high or even someone that you could snatch up as a sell high or buy low. Today we focus on Royals rookie third basemen Bobby Witt Jr..

It was only about two weeks ago, and the debates were already raging as to whether Witt Jr did or did not belong as an everyday MLB player at this point in his young career. The reason for this debate was a real slow start at the bat to his rookie season.

First, let us look at how he got here. The hype has been off the charts since day one for the son of former MLB pitcher Bobby Witt. He was the second player taken in the 2019 MLB draft behind Adley Rutchman of the Orioles and has continued to be two of the top three prospects in the game. Even in high school, Witt was considered a five-tool prospect and after being drafted he took the minors by storm. He started the 2021 season in AA with a .939 OPS with 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 61 games. That AA stint was enough for the Royals to promote him to AAA where he posted a .936 OPS with 17 home runs and 15 stolen bases. It did not take long for the contact-hitting legitimate five-tool prospect to be noticed and Vegas Insider immediately made him the favorite for 2022 AL Rookie of the Year.

Enter 2022 and the Show. After a huge spring training, he had the game-winning knock on opening day and the Witt Jr legend began. That hit was a curse in disguise because of two factors- the Royals fan base immediately expected remarkable things right from the jump and Witt Jr. failed to deliver those expectations. The Royals fans were already awarding him a Silver Slugger and MVP award after one game, but he got off to an awfully slow start and had only two hits in the next 29 at-bats.  Here are Bobby Witt Jr’s first 10 games.

 Even with a player as popular as Witt Jr, the rumblings began. Was he ready for the big leagues? Maybe he should be sent back down? Was he a big bust? Things did not get much better and here are his numbers after 15 games:

But let us stop right there for a second. Do you all know Wander Franco? Stud shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays. He came up last season also with much fanfare and so much was expected right from his first at-bat. Here are his first 15 games

 Eerily similar to Witt Jr’s slash after 15 games, right? Franco is now among the top shortstops in the game in his first full season and he is slashing .302/.327/.531 with a .856 OPS. That is where we should see Witt at this time next season or even by the end of 2022 because the turnaround has already started. 

Witt Jr went 0-for-3 last night BUT it was the first game that he failed to get a base hit since April 20^th. He raised his average to .229 during the 11-game hit streak and do not be surprised if he starts a new streak this weekend. He also got the biggest monkey off his back on Tuesday night by hitting his first MLB home run. Most people would not believe that it would take Witt Jr into the first week of May to hit his first bomb, but the dam has been broken and many more will be coming. 

So, how does Bobby Witt Jr now look after the last week? The chart is a little different than earlier in this article

 These are numbers that we will come to expect from Bobby Witt Jr. Right now, pitchers are challenging him with pitches either on the shadow of the plate or are banging waste pitches at him and he is finally starting to adjust as the numbers back that up. Bobby Witt Jr is a must on fantasy rosters, and he will only get better as the season progresses, so this is the perfect time to make a buy-low offer on the Royals rookie from that fantasy manager that just has no patience.