Bobby Witt

Witt Jr. has been famous for years, and not just because he’s the son of Bobby Witt, the No. 3 overall pick in the 1985 draft and a 16-year major league righthander. The younger Witt may equal or better where his father was picked, which would make them the highest-drafted father-son pairing ever. Witt has been expected near the top the 2019 draft class for years thanks to his size, speed and power. Last summer, he showed excellent power potential but also raised questions about his hit tool as he showed more swing-and-miss than evaluators would have liked. This spring, admittedly against lesser competition, Witt has shown a better approach and more bat-to-ball skills. He’s using the entire field more and staying more balanced at the plate, where in the past he showed a tendency to get a little pull happy and collapse his backside during his swing. Witt shows a solid awareness of the strike zone—when he got into trouble last summer it was because he was swinging and missing at pitches in the zone rather than expanding it. He has plus power that projects for 20-plus home runs at the big league level and potentially even more in the current overheated major league power environment. At shortstop, Witt is the top defender in the class and a future plus defender with elite hands, quick feet and a plus arm. He shows the ability to throw from multiple arm slots and make plays going to both his right and left with excellent throwing accuracy. He’s a plus runner who can impact the game on the bases. Scouts have long raved about his makeup and several said that his work ethic and drive will help him get the most out of his considerable tools. Witt will turn 19 years old right after the draft, so he is older for the class. He is seen as both a high-floor player as well as someone with one of the highest ceilings in the class because of his well-rounded toolset and strong odds of sticking at shortstop. If he is even a .230 or .240 hitter, he should have a lengthy big league career because of his defensive ability at shortstop, speed and power. If he proves to be an average or better hitter, he could become a franchise-caliber player.