Vinnie Pasquantino Praises ‘Unbelievable’ Bobby Witt Jr.
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The Kansas City Royals saw a ton of young players hit the field for them this past season, but two of their best rookies were first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and infielder Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt started the 2022 season with the big-league club and while some of his numbers fell short of expectations and Witt wasn't named a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year award, he still enjoyed a great deal of success. Witt joined the 20-20 club in his very first season in the majors and made seemingly countless web gem-level plays that gave the club a glimpse of what the future could look like. Now arguably the face of the Royals organization, Witt is tasked with coming back even better in year two.
Pasquantino, on the other hand, didn't start the season with the MLB club but hit at an elite level once he did. The 'Italian Nightmare' slashed. 295/.383/.450 in 72 games and posted an impressive 137 wRC+ that led to him getting national recognition on numerous occasions. On a recent appearance on the Starting 9 podcast, Pasquantino revealed that he'd never played with Witt at all — even for fun — before joining him on the Royals.
"So I actually never played with him until getting to the big leagues," Pasquantino said. "Not even really on backfields or anything. He and I were never connected in our journey to the big leagues. When I started out in High-A, he was in Double-A. When I got promoted to Double-A, the same day, he got promoted to Triple-A. I guess the first time I ever played with him was spring training this year."
Pasquantino was a bit of an older prospect and didn't follow the same timeline as Witt, but the two are now tearing it up on the same squad. Witt, a top pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, had a lot more eyes on him throughout his draft process and subsequent stints in the minor leagues. The son of a former big-leaguer, the bar was set high for Witt from the very moment his pick got announced. According to Pasquantino, that hasn't had any impact on him whatsoever.
"I mean, he's just unbelievable," Pasquantino said. "Especially character-wise, there's nobody better. It's hard to be the No. 2 pick in the draft and be able to kind of have that weight of the franchise on your shoulders a little bit for a few years when you're in the minor leagues and then get there the way he has. I think he's handled everything in stride."
Along with Witt and Pasquantino, Kansas City invested in what was perhaps baseball's biggest youth movement in 2022. In a September win over the Detroit Tigers, the Royals became the first team ever to have four different rookies hit a home run in the same game. Once Pasquantino got promoted and even as the season progressed, more and more unproven players were given chances to gain valuable reps at the big-league level.
The Royals' core of centerpiece young players doesn't stop at two. At a minimum, catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez is someone who can be considered a member of that group as well. The 23-year-old played in 129 games for the club in 2022, posting a .313 OBP with 18 home runs and a 12.4% walk rate. Kansas City's 'big three' of sorts serves as a reason for hope moving forward, and Pasquantino is still in awe of both Witt and Melendez and the timing of him being able to join them a bit later in the season.
"The first time I played with him and a few other guys, it was kind of like a starstruck moment for me because being in the big leagues was always a goal but it never became a real reality until this year," Pasquantino said. "So I had always watched these guys from afar thinking, 'Okay, that's what big-leaguers look like. I want to try to be like them.' So being on the field with them at the same time was just super special for me."
