Everyone is really freaking out about Witt Jr I feel like…..and I get it…he isn’t the star we were told he would be. Not yet anyway. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a good player. If this organization didn’t have to call people up to be the savior ALL THE TIME…the narrative would be so much different. If you could bring him up, bat him 6th….that’s the ideal world. Anyway, I’m shocked the on base percentage is as low as it is. You know that is one of the things he was told to work on going into the year.
I can’t help but think about what the Cardinals did with Walker in St. Louis. Top prospect, started the year on a 12 game hitting streak. They noticed he was hitting ground balls at too high a rate and sent him down and said fix it. If we want Bobby Witt to be the best possible player he can be. I’d love to hear the Royals say .267 OBP isn’t good enough. Fix it. I don’t know that you send him down…but I’m a little to the point of the Royals stop being so nice. Maybe they started with the arb with Singer over the 300k.
And I’ll be the first to admit….I Singer is proving the Royals right in that regard. I was annoyed and confused on why they would argue over 300k with their best pitcher while just giving O’Hearn money. But they turned out to be right in that regard.
I mean, you'd love to hear it, but most teams aren't going to say it. Those same Cardinals were rightly raked over the coals for being public with issues with the players. I don't think anyone is telling Witt that it's great what he's doing.
They aren’t going to say it. I agree. Sometimes with this organization….I just want confirmation that they are seeing the same thing the entire rest of the planet is seeing. That’s a lack of trust right there….but they’ve earned it. Lol
He's a valuable player and his defensive improvement is impressive. I think the problem is that when the tools are SO loud, it's hard not to expect more. I'll give the Royals some credit last year. He was hitting eighth in spring training. I know it's just spring, but they were going to ease him in and he was so good that he forced his way up. And to their credit, they dropped him to seventh after 10 games. Then they moved him back up in May and he hit .283/.327/.509 before the hamstring issue. I don't think they put too much on him or anything because they made a move quickly when they thought maybe they were. But yeah, he just needs to swing less. It'll solve A LOT.
I feel like Witt is getting all the attention….but I think a little bit bigger of story is that Melendez and I’d even say Vinnie haven’t really taken a step forward. I expected one to take another step, one to stay about the same, and one to take a step back. All three staying the same or in Melendez case a step back is the bigger problem. Witt gets the attention..but he doesn’t exactly have help from the young guys….yet anyway.
I'm not even remotely worried about Vinnie. He had a 15-game slump like every hitter has. Before it, he was hitting .298/.383/.539. He's got five hits now in his last two games, so hopefully he's out of it. Even with it, he's still putting up a wRC+ of 120 in his first full season. Melendez is frustrating because the batted ball data is elite, but the results just don't seem to come. Like I wrote, I'm hopeful him drawing some walks means that he's seeing the ball well and will get hot.
I’m not saying I’m worried about Vinnie…I’m just saying he hasn’t taken a step forward is all. He’s pretty much what he was last year. Which is good…..just not better than last year. It’s the issue with game plan of everyone improving. It doesn’t happen linear all at the same time.
I care a lot less about someone who is already really good getting better and more about them maintaining, so I don't see that as a bad thing. I mean, yes, I would love to see him jump to a 150-160 wRC+, but if he maintains being 25-30% above average, that works for me without even thinking twice. Kyle Tucker is a great example. There's nobody lamenting him not taking a step forward. He's just really good.
Just you and me today it looks like. Somehow this got sidetracked a bit. If Alvarez was hitting in front of Vinnie…nobody would care if he hasn’t taken a step forward. It just the curse of being on a sucky team I think. We only care who has or hasn’t taken a step because we are looking at a historically bad team. Are they historically bad? I tend to not really think so…but the record is what it is. So IDK. Vinnie is and will be good, so will Witt….but that won’t keep them from being bad for the time being. So many more pieces to get yet. Hopefully some are already on the team…only way to find out is to keep going I guess.
Been meaning to ask (and you did touch on it a bit), do you think Witt's struggles come from pitch recognition? I feel like he is just guessing a lot. If so, I'm not sure sending him to Omaha is going to help anyway.
Yeah, I don't think Omaha is going to do anything for him because I do think he's finding himself guessing. This isn't a long-term solution, but short-term, I'd have him looking for one particular pitch in any given game or even any given at bat and if he doesn't get it, he doesn't swing. That's pretty hardcore, so maybe it's a little much, but I think that would help him. At least he'd be ready for that one pitch whereas right now, he has so many at bats where he's thinking fastball and gets a slider and then thinking slider and gets a fastball. At least if he picked one, he'd be right half the time.
"It’s unfortunate that the Royals are not legally allowed to win a game Lyles pitches..." is hilarious. Great article David! Not worried about Witt's performance whatsoever, he has already improved drastically defensively and advanced stats show he will get better at the plate (not in the leadoff role).
The advanced stats were actually surprising to me. I love writing something and not knowing all the details ahead because it's fun to come to a conclusion as I write.
With the entire pitching staff unusually well-rested, we can only hope that Q has an extremely quick hook once Lyles starts trying to give the game away.
I'm probably way too late to get responses. I wasn't available yesterday. The Royals moved Witt to sixth for one game I think, then bumped him up to fourth for a week and now last night up to second. I wish they would bat him sixth or even seventh and leave him there for a month. Even if he gets hot or doesn't leave him alone and don't mess with him. He shouldn't feel pressure to perform and let him build up some confidence. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't.
I agree. I don’t even have a big problem with him fourth, though he and Salvy need to be separated I think. But getting him back to the top of the lineup was just too fast. Maybe it was just about the particular pitcher and wanting to go LRLR at the top, but I’d rather see Witt stay fifth to seventh for a bit.
David, sat down and watched the game yesterday. Wanted to see Lynch and what he looked like. I stand corrected on my statement that I didn’t think they were historically bad. My saving grace was I watched a game where Olivares didn’t make an error so that was good. The error by Jr in the first inning…whatever it happens. But getting picked off third? WTF….and that’s a day after getting doubled up on an infield pop up I saw. I don’t watch all the games like you but if yesterday was any indication then Melendez is NOT getting better out there yet. What I watched yesterday was a bad team. The focus just isn’t there right now and someone needs to remind these guys this is the major leagues.
Everyone is really freaking out about Witt Jr I feel like…..and I get it…he isn’t the star we were told he would be. Not yet anyway. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a good player. If this organization didn’t have to call people up to be the savior ALL THE TIME…the narrative would be so much different. If you could bring him up, bat him 6th….that’s the ideal world. Anyway, I’m shocked the on base percentage is as low as it is. You know that is one of the things he was told to work on going into the year.
I can’t help but think about what the Cardinals did with Walker in St. Louis. Top prospect, started the year on a 12 game hitting streak. They noticed he was hitting ground balls at too high a rate and sent him down and said fix it. If we want Bobby Witt to be the best possible player he can be. I’d love to hear the Royals say .267 OBP isn’t good enough. Fix it. I don’t know that you send him down…but I’m a little to the point of the Royals stop being so nice. Maybe they started with the arb with Singer over the 300k.
And I’ll be the first to admit….I Singer is proving the Royals right in that regard. I was annoyed and confused on why they would argue over 300k with their best pitcher while just giving O’Hearn money. But they turned out to be right in that regard.
I mean, you'd love to hear it, but most teams aren't going to say it. Those same Cardinals were rightly raked over the coals for being public with issues with the players. I don't think anyone is telling Witt that it's great what he's doing.
They aren’t going to say it. I agree. Sometimes with this organization….I just want confirmation that they are seeing the same thing the entire rest of the planet is seeing. That’s a lack of trust right there….but they’ve earned it. Lol
I guess, but you're literally never going to get that, at least in-season. Them moving him down in the lineup was them saying it.
He's a valuable player and his defensive improvement is impressive. I think the problem is that when the tools are SO loud, it's hard not to expect more. I'll give the Royals some credit last year. He was hitting eighth in spring training. I know it's just spring, but they were going to ease him in and he was so good that he forced his way up. And to their credit, they dropped him to seventh after 10 games. Then they moved him back up in May and he hit .283/.327/.509 before the hamstring issue. I don't think they put too much on him or anything because they made a move quickly when they thought maybe they were. But yeah, he just needs to swing less. It'll solve A LOT.
I feel like Witt is getting all the attention….but I think a little bit bigger of story is that Melendez and I’d even say Vinnie haven’t really taken a step forward. I expected one to take another step, one to stay about the same, and one to take a step back. All three staying the same or in Melendez case a step back is the bigger problem. Witt gets the attention..but he doesn’t exactly have help from the young guys….yet anyway.
I'm not even remotely worried about Vinnie. He had a 15-game slump like every hitter has. Before it, he was hitting .298/.383/.539. He's got five hits now in his last two games, so hopefully he's out of it. Even with it, he's still putting up a wRC+ of 120 in his first full season. Melendez is frustrating because the batted ball data is elite, but the results just don't seem to come. Like I wrote, I'm hopeful him drawing some walks means that he's seeing the ball well and will get hot.
I’m not saying I’m worried about Vinnie…I’m just saying he hasn’t taken a step forward is all. He’s pretty much what he was last year. Which is good…..just not better than last year. It’s the issue with game plan of everyone improving. It doesn’t happen linear all at the same time.
I care a lot less about someone who is already really good getting better and more about them maintaining, so I don't see that as a bad thing. I mean, yes, I would love to see him jump to a 150-160 wRC+, but if he maintains being 25-30% above average, that works for me without even thinking twice. Kyle Tucker is a great example. There's nobody lamenting him not taking a step forward. He's just really good.
Just you and me today it looks like. Somehow this got sidetracked a bit. If Alvarez was hitting in front of Vinnie…nobody would care if he hasn’t taken a step forward. It just the curse of being on a sucky team I think. We only care who has or hasn’t taken a step because we are looking at a historically bad team. Are they historically bad? I tend to not really think so…but the record is what it is. So IDK. Vinnie is and will be good, so will Witt….but that won’t keep them from being bad for the time being. So many more pieces to get yet. Hopefully some are already on the team…only way to find out is to keep going I guess.
Been meaning to ask (and you did touch on it a bit), do you think Witt's struggles come from pitch recognition? I feel like he is just guessing a lot. If so, I'm not sure sending him to Omaha is going to help anyway.
Yeah, I don't think Omaha is going to do anything for him because I do think he's finding himself guessing. This isn't a long-term solution, but short-term, I'd have him looking for one particular pitch in any given game or even any given at bat and if he doesn't get it, he doesn't swing. That's pretty hardcore, so maybe it's a little much, but I think that would help him. At least he'd be ready for that one pitch whereas right now, he has so many at bats where he's thinking fastball and gets a slider and then thinking slider and gets a fastball. At least if he picked one, he'd be right half the time.
"It’s unfortunate that the Royals are not legally allowed to win a game Lyles pitches..." is hilarious. Great article David! Not worried about Witt's performance whatsoever, he has already improved drastically defensively and advanced stats show he will get better at the plate (not in the leadoff role).
The advanced stats were actually surprising to me. I love writing something and not knowing all the details ahead because it's fun to come to a conclusion as I write.
With the entire pitching staff unusually well-rested, we can only hope that Q has an extremely quick hook once Lyles starts trying to give the game away.
You can want it, but he's not pulling him before Lyles throws a pitch.
I'm probably way too late to get responses. I wasn't available yesterday. The Royals moved Witt to sixth for one game I think, then bumped him up to fourth for a week and now last night up to second. I wish they would bat him sixth or even seventh and leave him there for a month. Even if he gets hot or doesn't leave him alone and don't mess with him. He shouldn't feel pressure to perform and let him build up some confidence. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't.
Not too late!
I agree. I don’t even have a big problem with him fourth, though he and Salvy need to be separated I think. But getting him back to the top of the lineup was just too fast. Maybe it was just about the particular pitcher and wanting to go LRLR at the top, but I’d rather see Witt stay fifth to seventh for a bit.
David, sat down and watched the game yesterday. Wanted to see Lynch and what he looked like. I stand corrected on my statement that I didn’t think they were historically bad. My saving grace was I watched a game where Olivares didn’t make an error so that was good. The error by Jr in the first inning…whatever it happens. But getting picked off third? WTF….and that’s a day after getting doubled up on an infield pop up I saw. I don’t watch all the games like you but if yesterday was any indication then Melendez is NOT getting better out there yet. What I watched yesterday was a bad team. The focus just isn’t there right now and someone needs to remind these guys this is the major leagues.