The Kansas City Royals have won seven of their last 10 games and are coming off a series win over the Detroit Tigers. Sitting just 1.5 games back of first place in the AL Central, Kansas City has started to turn its season around after a rocky start.
There has been more life from the Royals’ offense, which has been anchored by superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
The All-Star is putting together another impressive season both at the plate and in the field. Witt is slashing .302/.372/.475 in 162 at-bats while leading Kansas City with 19 RBIs. He has been especially dominant over the last seven days, highlighted by a jaw-dropping inside-the-park home run.
News flash: Bobby Witt Jr. is still fast
In the Royals’ 5-1 win over the Tigers on Saturday, Witt showcased his speed for the world to see. The 25-year-old hit a two-run inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Kansas City an early lead. The kicker? He made it around the bases in an eye-opening 14.13 seconds.
It has been clear ever since Witt’s rookie season that he is incredibly fast, but it never ceases to amaze when he pulls off a stunt like that. The inside-the-park home run was the fourth-fastest home-to-home time ever recorded by Statcast.
Outside of the home run, Witt has been playing dominant baseball over the last seven days. In his last 27 at-bats, he is slashing .407/.448/.815 with a 1.263 OPS and three home runs.
Along with his production at the plate, Witt leads MLB in Outs Above Average with 11. He showcased his glove during this year’s World Baseball Classic and has continued to make plays that once seemed impossible.
Witt’s metrics this season have been covered in red. With a .388 xwOBA and a 51.9% hard-hit rate, he has been crushing the ball all season long. That is also highlighted by his 93 mph average exit velocity this season.
With plenty of baseball left to be played and the AL Central still up for grabs, Witt and Kansas City will look to extend their recent success during a big three-game division series against the Chicago White Sox beginning Tuesday.
From inside-the-park home runs to vacuum-like plays at shortstop, year after year Witt continues to show why he is one of the best players in baseball.
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