When Eli Willits was drafted first overall last year, he was seen as a very polished and skilled ballplayer for such a young guy. He had great bat to ball skills from both sides of the plate, a rock solid glove at shortstop, and an overall high baseball IQ. However, scouts were not sure how much power would develop.
The development of over the fence power would be the difference between Eli Willits being a solid shortstop and being a superstar. So far, the early returns on his power have been better than anybody could have expected. Willits already has 9 home runs on the season, including three in his first three games in High-A. This truly looks to be a budding superstar on the farm.
This power, especially over the past month or so has been a real shock to me. I always thought there was a chance Willits could develop 15-20 home run power down the road, but not this quickly. Last season as a 17 year old in Low-A, Willits looked phenomenally advanced for his age. He hit .300 in 15 games playing guys much older than him. However, he hit no homers and only 2 of his 15 hits went for extra bases.
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Heading into this season, I expected Willits to hit for a high average, play good defense and steal a lot of bases. He has done exactly that this season. Willits is hitting .302 with 30 stolen bases and has made just one error all season. If he was doing that with just 2 or 3 homers, I would be happy. After all, he does not turn 19 until December and has plenty of time to grow into his 6’1 frame.
However, the power has arrived, especially lately. Willits already has 5 home runs in June, and is learning to drive the ball in the air with authority. He showed up to Spring Training with noticeably more muscle heading into the season, and that is paying off. Willits actually had a slow start to the season his first couple weeks, adjusting to pro ball and his new body. The youngster has truly come into his own the past couple months though.
For the season, Willits now has a .958 OPS, which is phenomenal for a kid who also plays outstanding defense and runs the bases like a mad man. With his power outburst, I think Willits can be a 20+ home run guy in the big leagues. Some of the homers he has been hitting lately are absolute tanks as well. The youngster is showing a level of raw power most did not expect from him until he was in his early to mid 20’s.
Right now MLB Pipeline has Willits as their 4th ranked prospect in baseball, while Baseball America has him at 19 and Just Baseball has him at 23. For most of this season, I thought the 20 range was where he belonged. However, with what he has shown the past few weeks, I think MLB Pipeline’s ranking is beginning to feel more justified.
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This is a sure fire shortstop who makes a lot of contact from both sides of the plate that is a constant threat on the bases. Now he looks to have at least average raw power. Willits is also a very high IQ player who does the little things at a high level. When I saw him with the Fred Nats, I was blown away with how mature his game is for such a young player. With the power arriving, there is not much to dislike here.
This is becoming an incredibly complete prospect who has a chance to be a superstar. The front office is paying very close attention to this because they just recently promoted him to High-A. As we have chronicled, Willits has been a man possessed to start his Wilmington Blue Rocks career.
The craziest part of all this is that Eli Willits is supposed to be a senior in high school this past spring. He reclassified, but was previously in this upcoming draft class. It is not like he would be a very old high schooler either. His December birthday makes him younger than prospects such as Jacob Lombard and Gio Rojas. Instead of being in high school, Willits is mashing homers in High-A.
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One of Willits’ stated goals is to be a big leaguer by age 20. Right now, the 18 year old is on track to do that. Whether it is next year as a 19 year old or in 2028 as a 20 year old, I would be surprised if Willits is not a big leaguer before he can legally drink. The kid is just too polished and too good.
When the Nats drafted Eli Willits last year, fans were unsure about the pick. He was not as well known as Kade Anderson or Ethan Holliday. Willits was also seen as the money saving pick. However, he is trending to potentially be a 5 tool superstar right now.
At the time of the draft, people whispered that if everything went right, Eli Willits could be a Francisco Lindor type player. Like Willits, Lindor did not have much power as a draft prospect, but grew into it as he got older. We are still a long way from Willits being like Lindor, but everything seems to be going right at the moment. Eli Willits is growing into his power, and it is raising his ceiling in a big way.
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