Witt Jr: 3rd full season in MLB / Henderson: 2nd full season. Witt Jr. 51 RBIs with a .327BA in the #2 slot of the lineup with 11 HRs / Henderson: 49 RBIs with a .276BA because of 22 HRs / Witt Jr.: plays in the AL central(5 games out of first at 9 games over .500) / Henderson: AL East(1.5 games out of first 23 games over .500 / Witt Jr.: more steals and base running because runs are at a premium in KC / Henderson: hasnt been caught stealing once this year, but has far fewer attempts because A) you can’t risk outs like that in the AL East, and B) you don’t interfere with the bats of Rutsch, O’Hearn, Mountcastle, Santander and Westburg for anything less than guaranteed success. : Witt Jr.: speed, defense, arm, average all exceptionally elite, but power is above average at best as a 20-30 HR/year guy at best. / Henderson: Elite with all 5 tools with a full season of lesser experience at the big league level than Witt Jr. currently on pace to hit 50 HRs, drive in 115+, steal 20-30 bags in 20-30 attempts at 30.2 feet per second sprint speed, with a gold glove caliber defense and elite caliber arm. Most importantly, Henderson is 6-12 in October with a HR and 2 RBIs in 3 games and plays in the AL East compared to the AL Central which carries 100x more cash which means way more in-depth scouting reports, preparation and planning from coaching/pitching staffs as he goes up against the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays for a third of the season while Witt plays the likes of the White Sox. Last, but not least, Witt Jr. is 24 and he’s 6’1” 190lbs while Gunnar is 6’3” 195lbs at age 22. When Gunnar is 24 and 25-30lbs heavier as he becomes a full grown adult and acquires the additional experience at the big league level, you will watch Gunnar start for the American League every year over Witt Jr without question and you will call Witt Jr the face of the franchise in KC while you call Gunnar AL and WS MVP. Period, end of story.
Gunnar (bats lead off): 23 years old 89 G 27 HR 61 RBI .293 avg .384 obp .604 slg .988 ops 182 ops+ 14 SB (93%) 6.5 WAR Witt Jr (bats 2nd): 24 years old 92 G 15 HR 61 RBI .322 avg .372 obp .564 slg .936 ops 157 ops+ 22 SB (71%) 5.1 WAR I get their both quite good, but I’m taking Gunnar with 0 doubt in my mind. A lot of the points in favor of Witt aren’t as drastic as the ones in favor of Gunnar, defensively they’ve put up about identical metrics. On the basepaths Witt has a few more steals, but Gunnar does it more efficiently by not taking unnecessary risks to remove potential runs from his team.
Really can't go wrong between Gunnar and Bobby at #1. Both are excelling at the plate, on the bases and defensively. Gunnar has the edge on offense, Bobby on defense and the baserunning is pretty much a wash. Bobby has 8 more steals, but has been caught stealing 7 more times. I also didn't realize Gunnar was a full year younger than Bobby. Being in the same draft I figured they'd be the same age.
First off, Gunnar was drafted out of high school which is why he’s 2 years younger than Witt Jr. second, would you choose defense and speed over power when the person with the power has elite defense and speed? Two five tool players, but one has double the power and you’d take the defense and speed? On a lineup like Kansas City’s? I wonder if the manager/GM in KC feels the same as you and would reject a trade from Baltimore of Witt for Henderson. lol. First of the five tools to go with age: SPEED. Last to go: POWER. Financially most valuable: POWER. October most valuable: POWER. Dave Roberts stole second and scored with speed to TIE the Yankees in the 04 ALCS classic, but Big Papi’s power won that game, and the next game which is why Big Papi is who he is and why Dave Roberts was who he was(as a player). Ortiz ran a 12 minute 40, but who would you take in October for your lineup, Papi or Witt Jr.? I rest my case.
Couldn’t agree more. This guy did not take the fact that Gunnar plays in the AL East compared to the Central and on a team that expects to win versus a team that expected to win and has not prevailed. The “winner” factor was clearly excluded. Gunnar joined a team that had lost over 100 games two seasons in a row followed by a barely winning season after that and then he joined the club and they won 101 games while currently being on pace to win even more this year. Gunnar is an impact player. He impacts the clubhouse, he impacts the lineup, he sets the table and builds confidence for the rest of the lineup. He faces exponentially more difficult pitching and far more teams that are either winning teams or teams that expect to win in a market that demands they win. So he is pitched to much more carefully, scouting reports are more in-depth and over-analyzed while he already feels the weight of being expected to perform no matter what which you can see by his emotion in every play. The other night he ran out a ball that was hit back to the pitcher so hard that it was a bang bang play at first. Aside from that, the Orioles have had some terrible scheduling having just finished a 17 games in 17 days stretch as part of a 43 games in 45 days stretch overall where 85% of the teams they face are either playoff teams or at least teams with .500+ records. Furthermore, he mentioned the steals aspect, you don’t attempt steals in a lot of situations when the next 5 batters are Rutsch, O’Hearn, Mountcastle, Santander and Westburg. In other words, if Gunnar didn’t have ELITE speed(over 30 feet per second average)he would have 0 steals because no one would let him attempt such a thing in his sophomore season(expected baseball IQ/experience still low)and he’s never been caught stealing this year despite having a green light most of the time. That means he’s smart enough to never run into an out on the bases and always make sure he’s only improving the inning instead of taking Baltimore out of one. His overall baseball IQ is through the roof. You have no idea how wrong you got this pal. Bobby Witt Jr is standing out because of the team he’s on and the supporting cast/league he’s playing around. Gunnar is standing out as a 2nd round pick in a lineup littered with 1st & 2nd round picks(Rutsch, Mountcastle, Westburg, Cowser, Norby[older than Henderson and still beat him out for an infield job with his performance]Holliday[currently in the minors because there’s nowhere to put him in that lineup unless he’s hitting out of his shoes like Gunnar])the list goes on and on with this Orioles team, they are so stacked with young talent it’s ridiculous and their 2nd round pick from the draft where Rutsch was their 1st round pick is currently outshining them all with raw talent. If Gunnar was 24, you wouldn’t even be mentioning Witt Jr in the same sentence with him and you’ll find out over the next two years how off you were with this call. To choose speed and defense as the two most important tools over arm strength, batting average and power is just madness. Players have had an extra 2-5 years in their careers simply because they can hit for power, not even for average, so teams bring them in as a DH or pinch hitter to bolster their line up because that’s the last tool to go with age thus making it the most valuable in every way. 1) financially; a team will throw you millions annually if you can hit 25+ homers and do nothing else well. 2) big hits in October win World Series so guys not only get extended careers, but meaningful games in those extensions. 3) 40+ homers/year and 200+ strikeouts will make you a hometown hero with just about any team in the big leagues. How much further do I need to go here? The fact that Gunnar has that power and already shows so much plate discipline that after winning ROY of the year player of the month in April of his Sophomore campaign, meaning everyone has the scouting report, and he’s still walking more than he’s striking out, while being incredibly aggressive early in counts, and still has the 2nd most HRs in all of baseball means he’s special. The fact that he plays elite defense, throws at an elite level and runs at an elite level makes this a landslide situation which is why you said he’s an MVP candidate this year, but didn’t say that about Witt Jr. Mike Trout won MVP in 2014 and not the two years before where he finished second behind Miguel Cabrera because Cabrera did what he did on a winning team and when the angels won the division in 2014 Trout earned his first MVP hands down. Meaningful games, opponent caliber, pitcher quality, opposing coaching skills, all of these aren’t just factors, they’re the most important factors. Gunnar is 0-3(W-L)in the post season, but his postseason batting average is .500(6 for 12)with a homer and a couple RBIs. Big games, big spots, high pressure, this is what sports are all about and what makes the GOATs the GOATs. That’s why MJ and Brady are who they are, and Peyton Manning and LeBron James are who they are. Sure LeBron and Peyton are absolutely dominant, but if there’s 2 minutes left from your own 20 yard line in the Super Bowl you’re taking Brady just like you’re taking MJ in game 6 no matter what. I respect the time and effort that you put into this video, but you needed to do a much deeper dive when you considered Witt and Henderson neck and neck, because it’s this simple: if Baltimore and KC did a straight up trade, and you plugged Gunnar into KC and Witt into Baltimore, who would see an increase in wins as a team, who would have more of an impact? Gunnar’s stellar defense, speed and 22 bombs with 49 RBIs as a lead off hitter while posting a 275BA or Witt Jr who has 51 RBIs while hitting 327 because he only has 11 long balls as the #2 hitter? Not to mention Gunnar would be in the 3-4 slot in that lineup and would go from table setter to table clearer. Last but not least, what happens when Gunnar is hitting 327 along with the power numbers because he has the additional year of MLB experience that Witt Jr. has, which in and of itself should have had Gunnar at #1. You need to edit this video and make the appropriate swap, and another edit you need to make is Paul Skenes should be #2 behind Henderson because he’s going to win a handful of Cy Young awards with his effortless 100+mph. Those two are in their 1st and 2nd full seasons and you have someone that debuted 5 years ago ahead of them, it’s just not accurate information, I’m sorry, but it’s true.
I always hated the idea you shouldn't throw your change up to a same side hitter. I threw mine to everyone. It was my best pitch. Why should I lose my best pitch to 90% of hitters I face?
the idea with the change up is this same as throwing a slider to opposite side hitters. since most change ups run arm side they are going into the bat path of a same-side hitter, generating hard contact even if the batter doesn’t see it well. However, all change ups are different, and if your change up is primarily based off of tunneling with the fastball and disrupting timing i see no issue with throwing it to both sides (like Johan Santana)
Elly de la Cruz is only 22 years old. To say "he is what he is" after two years in the league is unfair. Also unfair to rank a triple A player (Jackson Holliday) above him.
Witt Jr: 3rd full season in MLB / Henderson: 2nd full season. Witt Jr. 51 RBIs with a .327BA in the #2 slot of the lineup with 11 HRs / Henderson: 49 RBIs with a .276BA because of 22 HRs / Witt Jr.: plays in the AL central(5 games out of first at 9 games over .500) / Henderson: AL East(1.5 games out of first 23 games over .500 / Witt Jr.: more steals and base running because runs are at a premium in KC / Henderson: hasnt been caught stealing once this year, but has far fewer attempts because A) you can’t risk outs like that in the AL East, and B) you don’t interfere with the bats of Rutsch, O’Hearn, Mountcastle, Santander and Westburg for anything less than guaranteed success. : Witt Jr.: speed, defense, arm, average all exceptionally elite, but power is above average at best as a 20-30 HR/year guy at best. / Henderson: Elite with all 5 tools with a full season of lesser experience at the big league level than Witt Jr. currently on pace to hit 50 HRs, drive in 115+, steal 20-30 bags in 20-30 attempts at 30.2 feet per second sprint speed, with a gold glove caliber defense and elite caliber arm. Most importantly, Henderson is 6-12 in October with a HR and 2 RBIs in 3 games and plays in the AL East compared to the AL Central which carries 100x more cash which means way more in-depth scouting reports, preparation and planning from coaching/pitching staffs as he goes up against the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Rays for a third of the season while Witt plays the likes of the White Sox. Last, but not least, Witt Jr. is 24 and he’s 6’1” 190lbs while Gunnar is 6’3” 195lbs at age 22. When Gunnar is 24 and 25-30lbs heavier as he becomes a full grown adult and acquires the additional experience at the big league level, you will watch Gunnar start for the American League every year over Witt Jr without question and you will call Witt Jr the face of the franchise in KC while you call Gunnar AL and WS MVP. Period, end of story.
Love this, thank you. I fully agree, as well.
Real solid analysis, I’d recommend attempting to include graphics or just occasional text that shows the metrics that are used
Love your videos!
Gunnar (bats lead off):
23 years old
89 G
27 HR
61 RBI
.293 avg
.384 obp
.604 slg
.988 ops
182 ops+
14 SB (93%)
6.5 WAR
Witt Jr (bats 2nd):
24 years old
92 G
15 HR
61 RBI
.322 avg
.372 obp
.564 slg
.936 ops
157 ops+
22 SB (71%)
5.1 WAR
I get their both quite good, but I’m taking Gunnar with 0 doubt in my mind.
A lot of the points in favor of Witt aren’t as drastic as the ones in favor of Gunnar, defensively they’ve put up about identical metrics. On the basepaths Witt has a few more steals, but Gunnar does it more efficiently by not taking unnecessary risks to remove potential runs from his team.
Grayson Rodriguez was possibly the best pitcher in the second half of last season, he's definitely more valuable than De La Cruz
Grayson Rodriguez season last year wasn’t even underwhelming eh started off terrible but in the second half his era was in the 2s
So happy you mentioned Heliot Ramos. Dude just had another big day with another homer.
Really can't go wrong between Gunnar and Bobby at #1. Both are excelling at the plate, on the bases and defensively. Gunnar has the edge on offense, Bobby on defense and the baserunning is pretty much a wash. Bobby has 8 more steals, but has been caught stealing 7 more times. I also didn't realize Gunnar was a full year younger than Bobby. Being in the same draft I figured they'd be the same age.
Gunnar is close to trout, Witt is Chris sabo
First off, Gunnar was drafted out of high school which is why he’s 2 years younger than Witt Jr. second, would you choose defense and speed over power when the person with the power has elite defense and speed? Two five tool players, but one has double the power and you’d take the defense and speed? On a lineup like Kansas City’s? I wonder if the manager/GM in KC feels the same as you and would reject a trade from
Baltimore of Witt for Henderson. lol. First of the five tools to go with age: SPEED. Last to go: POWER. Financially most valuable: POWER. October most valuable: POWER. Dave Roberts stole second and scored with speed to TIE the Yankees in the 04 ALCS classic, but Big Papi’s power won that game, and the next game which is why Big Papi is who he is and why Dave Roberts was who he was(as a player). Ortiz ran a 12 minute 40, but who would you take in October for your lineup, Papi or Witt Jr.? I rest my case.
An underwhelming 2023 season for Grayson Rodriguez? He was one of the best pitchers in the A.L. the second half of the season.
I don't remember the order, but yea the 3 al era leaders in the second half last year were cole, Grayson, and bradish
Already giving up on Jordan Walker is crazy bro
How old is Francisco Alvarez again?
Gunnar > Witt Jr
really just depends on preference gunnar had a bit more pop
Its close but Gunnar has a better WAR and he's younger
if only ian book was under 25 😔
Yea this list is null and void if you don’t have Gunnar above Witt, Gunnar is better overall and it’s not close
Gunnar hits more home runs and that’s about the only thing he does better than Witt. Everything else they’re either tied or Witt does better.
@@benjaminwormsley2275his defence has actually been slightly better too
Just not true both have very high potential possibly future mvps it’s way closer than you think
Gunnar has 0.1 more fWAR than Witt. You can certainly argue that Gunnar should be ahead of him, but saying it isn't close is just nonsense.
Couldn’t agree more. This guy did not take the fact that Gunnar plays in the AL East compared to the Central and on a team that expects to win versus a team that expected to win and has not prevailed. The “winner” factor was clearly excluded. Gunnar joined a team that had lost over 100 games two seasons in a row followed by a barely winning season after that and then he joined the club and they won 101 games while currently being on pace to win even more this year. Gunnar is an impact player. He impacts the clubhouse, he impacts the lineup, he sets the table and builds confidence for the rest of the lineup. He faces exponentially more difficult pitching and far more teams that are either winning teams or teams that expect to win in a market that demands they win. So he is pitched to much more carefully, scouting reports are more in-depth and over-analyzed while he already feels the weight of being expected to perform no matter what which you can see by his emotion in every play. The other night he ran out a ball that was hit back to the pitcher so hard that it was a bang bang play at first. Aside from that, the Orioles have had some terrible scheduling having just finished a 17 games in 17 days stretch as part of a 43 games in 45 days stretch overall where 85% of the teams they face are either playoff teams or at least teams with .500+ records. Furthermore, he mentioned the steals aspect, you don’t attempt steals in a lot of situations when the next 5 batters are Rutsch, O’Hearn, Mountcastle, Santander and Westburg. In other words, if Gunnar didn’t have ELITE speed(over 30 feet per second average)he would have 0 steals because no one would let him attempt such a thing in his sophomore season(expected baseball IQ/experience still low)and he’s never been caught stealing this year despite having a green light most of the time. That means he’s smart enough to never run into an out on the bases and always make sure he’s only improving the inning instead of taking Baltimore out of one. His overall baseball IQ is through the roof. You have no idea how wrong you got this pal. Bobby Witt Jr is standing out because of the team he’s on and the supporting cast/league he’s playing around. Gunnar is standing out as a 2nd round pick in a lineup littered with 1st & 2nd round picks(Rutsch, Mountcastle, Westburg, Cowser, Norby[older than Henderson and still beat him out for an infield job with his performance]Holliday[currently in the minors because there’s nowhere to put him in that lineup unless he’s hitting out of his shoes like Gunnar])the list goes on and on with this Orioles team, they are so stacked with young talent it’s ridiculous and their 2nd round pick from the draft where Rutsch was their 1st round pick is currently outshining them all with raw talent. If Gunnar was 24, you wouldn’t even be mentioning Witt Jr in the same sentence with him and you’ll find out over the next two years how off you were with this call. To choose speed and defense as the two most important tools over arm strength, batting average and power is just madness. Players have had an extra 2-5 years in their careers simply because they can hit for power, not even for average, so teams bring them in as a DH or pinch hitter to bolster their line up because that’s the last tool to go with age thus making it the most valuable in every way. 1) financially; a team will throw you millions annually if you can hit 25+ homers and do nothing else well. 2) big hits in October win World Series so guys not only get extended careers, but meaningful games in those extensions. 3) 40+ homers/year and 200+ strikeouts will make you a hometown hero with just about any team in the big leagues. How much further do I need to go here? The fact that Gunnar has that power and already shows so much plate discipline that after winning ROY of the year player of the month in April of his Sophomore campaign, meaning everyone has the scouting report, and he’s still walking more than he’s striking out, while being incredibly aggressive early in counts, and still has the 2nd most HRs in all of baseball means he’s special. The fact that he plays elite defense, throws at an elite level and runs at an elite level makes this a landslide situation which is why you said he’s an MVP candidate this year, but didn’t say that about Witt Jr. Mike Trout won MVP in 2014 and not the two years before where he finished second behind Miguel Cabrera because Cabrera did what he did on a winning team and when the angels won the division in 2014 Trout earned his first MVP hands down. Meaningful games, opponent caliber, pitcher quality, opposing coaching skills, all of these aren’t just factors, they’re the most important factors. Gunnar is 0-3(W-L)in the post season, but his postseason batting average is .500(6 for 12)with a homer and a couple RBIs. Big games, big spots, high pressure, this is what sports are all about and what makes the GOATs the GOATs. That’s why MJ and Brady are who they are, and Peyton Manning and LeBron James are who they are. Sure LeBron and Peyton are absolutely dominant, but if there’s 2 minutes left from your own 20 yard line in the Super Bowl you’re taking Brady just like you’re taking MJ in game 6 no matter what. I respect the time and effort that you put into this video, but you needed to do a much deeper dive when you considered Witt and Henderson neck and neck, because it’s this simple: if Baltimore and KC did a straight up trade, and you plugged Gunnar into KC and Witt into Baltimore, who would see an increase in wins as a team, who would have more of an impact? Gunnar’s stellar defense, speed and 22 bombs with 49 RBIs as a lead off hitter while posting a 275BA or Witt Jr who has 51 RBIs while hitting 327 because he only has 11 long balls as the #2 hitter? Not to mention Gunnar would be in the 3-4 slot in that lineup and would go from table setter to table clearer. Last but not least, what happens when Gunnar is hitting 327 along with the power numbers because he has the additional year of MLB experience that Witt Jr. has, which in and of itself should have had Gunnar at #1. You need to edit this video and make the appropriate swap, and another edit you need to make is Paul Skenes should be #2 behind Henderson because he’s going to win a handful of Cy Young awards with his effortless 100+mph. Those two are in their 1st and 2nd full seasons and you have someone that debuted 5 years ago ahead of them, it’s just not accurate information, I’m sorry, but it’s true.
Do top 25 over 25
Is Jared Jones an honorable mention?
yeah he’s a lot like bryan woo. he’s getting hit a bit harder than i would like, but his strike out to walk rate is encouraging
Skenes #1in 7 starts
So you honestly don’t think that Garrett crochet is a top 25 player under 25
got me with that one. the site i was using said he was already 25 😐. would probably be around 10
@@AndItsGone well maybe because he’s turning 25 in a week so that probably why it said he’s already 25
i’ll make sure to wish him a happy birthday on he 21st
I always hated the idea you shouldn't throw your change up to a same side hitter. I threw mine to everyone. It was my best pitch. Why should I lose my best pitch to 90% of hitters I face?
the idea with the change up is this same as throwing a slider to opposite side hitters. since most change ups run arm side they are going into the bat path of a same-side hitter, generating hard contact even if the batter doesn’t see it well. However, all change ups are different, and if your change up is primarily based off of tunneling with the fastball and disrupting timing i see no issue with throwing it to both sides (like Johan Santana)
Elly de la Cruz is only 22 years old. To say "he is what he is" after two years in the league is unfair. Also unfair to rank a triple A player (Jackson Holliday) above him.
Volpe has 6 homeruns not 3 btw
My only real gripe with this is Tovar over Volpe.
yeah it’s really close. in an earlier version of my script i said that i would have no issue if you swapped the two.
WHERES JACKSON MERRIL
honorable mention
Langford?
honorable mention
Wilt over Gunnar…..straight up biased video. Dude is a hater
No reds Matt McLain 😂😂
Jackson Merrill not in the top 25 is crazy
FOR REAL!
There is no way in good faith that you put elly de la Cruz ahead of Triston Casas. Dude is a terrible hitter and that won’t change
Elly has some rlly good power, just won’t hit for high average
Gunnar>Witt