Royals top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. clobbers 484-foot spring training homer

Witt was the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft

Two years ago the Kansas City Royals selected Bobby Witt Jr. with the No. 2 pick in the June amateur draft in hopes he would one day develop into the franchise's next homegrown superstar. So far this spring, Witt is living up to the hype and giving everyone a glimpse of what he can do on a baseball field.

Monday afternoon Witt, who is still only 20 years old, slugged a monster (and Statcast verified) 484-foot home run off Athletics reliever and actual big leaguer Yusmeiro Petit. He didn't tee off against some random minor leaguer. The ball cleared the berm and landed on the walkway beyond the stadium. Please enjoy the action footage:

With the home run, Witt is now 6 for 17 (.353) with two home runs in spring training. He authored a .262/.317/.354 batting line with one home run in seven rookie ball games after turning pro in 2019. Witt spent last year at Kansas City's alternate site.

Our R.J. Anderson recently ranked Witt the No. 14 prospect in baseball. From his write-up:

There's no questioning Witt's physical gifts. He can move and throw well enough to stick on the left side of the infield, and he has the size and strength to project for 20-plus-homers at his peak. If he lives up to his promise, he could well become a star-level producer. Yet there were some valid criticisms that made him a polarizing prospect heading into the 2019 draft. Namely, Witt was older than the average prepster, and he had a history of swinging and missing -- a concern because it suggests he might have problems against pro competition. Calling him a boom-or-bust prospect overstates things, but it gets the point across that there's significant upside and downside present in his game.

Long spring training home runs aside, Witt has barely played in the minors, and he'll likely begin 2021 in Single-A. If all goes well, he could reached Double-A later this year, and perhaps make his MLB debut at some point in 2022, likely in the second half. That's an optimistic timetable, though supremely talented players have a way of zooming up the minor-league ladder.

"I think so, but it's not really up to me," Witt told reporters, including Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star, when asked whether he thinks he's close to the majors earlier this month. "I've got to go out there and keep performing and doing my job. I just want to help the team as much as possible. I feel like that will get me as close to the major leagues as much as possible."

Witt received a $7.8 million signing bonus as the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft. His father, Bobby Sr., pitched 16 seasons in the big leagues and went 142-157 with a 4.83 ERA in close to 3,000 innings with seven teams.