There are few players that can stack up next to Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
One of the league's best and brightest stars, Witt Jr. has established himself as a true 5-tool, MVP-caliber player. He is off to a blazing start in his fifth professional season, batting .301 with a .854 OPS, seven home runs, 23 RBI, and 15 stolen bases through 49 games.
At just 25 years old, Witt Jr. is nearing 700 MLB games and has already touched a batting title, a Platinum Glove, two Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves, and has two All-Star appearances. With all this success at such a young age, it's easy to forget that he was once a 21-year-old kid making his debut, working through the struggles of adjusting to the major league level.
The pressure that comes with being a highly touted prospect is immense. When you are drafted second overall like Witt Jr. was in 2019, there is a certain expectation of who you are going to be. This only amplifies when you answer the call with 20 home runs and 80 RBI in your rookie season.
Witt Jr. rose to the occasion, but he knows what it is like to have to battle high expectations and the consistent disappointments of a big-league ball player. This week, staring across the diamond into the dugout of the visiting Boston Red Sox, Witt Jr. can see a bit of himself in one of the league's most promising young stars, someone who is certainly battling the same lofty expectations that he once did.
Ahead of the series finale against the Red Sox, Witt Jr. spoke with MassLive's Christopher Smith to break down some of the similarities he sees between himself and Boston's Roman Anthony, who remains sidelined with an injured hand.
“A lot of just the personality ... and how he is, how he carries himself, and just how he’s a true big leaguer,” he explained.
“We’re not really that loud or over-talkative, whatever,” Witt Jr. added. “We like to enjoy the game, have fun, and we’re competitive. We want to win, and we want to work.”
The two young stars got to know each other earlier this year during the World Baseball Classic when they came together to represent Team USA. Eventually losing in the finals to Team Venezuela, both Witt Jr. and Anthony shined on this stage. Each posted an on-base percentage of .400 and Witt Jr. was terrific in the field, but it was Anthony who provided one of the biggest swings of the tournament with his game-winning solo blast against the Dominican Republic.
Unfortunately, Anthony's strong WBC has not carried over into the regular season. The 22-year-old got off to a slow start, batting just .229 with a .675 OPS and only one home run through 30 games.
Just when it looked like he was starting to heat up, Anthony tweaked his hand and wrist on a swing in Detroit on May 4th. What originally looked like a minor injury has nagged, keeping him out for over two weeks. Suffering yet another setback on Monday, Anthony's return does not appear imminent.
Even considering the slow start, Anthony is still viewed as an immediate difference-maker when he is able to come back. This was on full display during his rookie season when he posted a .292 batting average and an .859 OPS in 71 games after being called up from Triple-A. What jumped out most during his age-21 campaign was his plate discipline, working at-bats in a way that showed maturity well beyond most players at his stage.
Witt Jr. praised this piece of his game, saying he is most impressed by "the at-bats he takes."
"They’re professional at-bats," he said. "They’re big league at-bats. Anytime he’s up there you know he’s going to put together a good at-bat. And even just a guy that just didn’t know he was going to be on Team USA and then was just kind of thrown in there, thrown right into the starting role. And then the at-bats he took, kind of how he was, it was just great.”
Even with his struggles, Anthony was still walking at a high clip before going down, holding a 15.4% walk percentage that ranks in the 91st percentile among major league hitters, and is slightly higher than his 2025 mark of 13.2%.
The maturity both on the field and off that caught Witt Jr.'s attention is something that has been echoed by players and coaches since his arrival to the big leagues. While Anthony's absence is frustrating for everyone involved, the praise that continues to roll in is a reminder of the kind of player that he can and should become.
