I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong about Bobby Witt. I made the mistake of listening to the Royals fan base about him during his rookie season a couple years ago. And as we all know, team’s fans are the harshest critics of their own players.
Indeed, Witt followed up his rookie season with a pretty good year. His third year in 2024 was nothing short of phenomenal. Playing 161 games, he won the AL batting crown with a .332 average leading with 211 hits. Bobby Jr. came with power too with 45 doubles, 11 triples and 32 home runs.
With these numbers, Witt drove in 109 runs and scored 125 himself.
Witt’s efforts helped Kansas City who had been lagging in previous years. The Royals even made it to the postseason. When all was said and done, he was awarded a Silver Slugger award, a Gold Glove and came in second for the AL MVP.
I’m a Bobby Witt believer, now.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Totals | 161 | 161 | 709 | 636 | 125 | 211 | 45 | 11 | 32 | 109 | 31 | 12 | 57 | 106 | .332 | .389 | .588 |
Bobby’s boasts
Witt’s card comes in with no real downsides. He’s fast. He can field. He has power. He can steal bases. And he can hit.
Witt’s five power numbers are not like Aaron Judge’s 2024 card. He has more gap power at 1-0-0-0-0 with five second column 1s. He does have five 11s sprinkled about the second column but it is still quite tough. Five 2s, as well.
Despite winning the batting title, there are no 7s on Witt’s 2024 card. I still think it is mostly accurate. This is because of the five power numbers and the 15-11. There is also the extra 8 he received. By my calculation, he should about or maybe a little lower his actual .332. Given the crazy 2024 pitching dynamics, I could be wrong.
Receiving three 14s helps Witt. I didn’t do the numbers on this but my feeling is that he is lucky to receive this with 57 walks in 709 plate appearances.
Not only does Witt not receive any 24s on his card but he also does not receive a 25. He was awarded a 12-29 based on grounding into just four double plays in 2024.
Witt was awarded a SS-9, the highest fielding rating given for shortstops in 2024. Again, no downsides for Bobby Jr.
