At just 17 years old, Eli Willits has shown elite contact skills since becoming a pro. While he is not impacting the ball much, he is spraying it all over the yard and making a ton of contact. He is showing an insane level of poise for a 17 year old who is facing grown men.
Since joining the Fred Nats, the average age of pitchers Willits has faced is about 22.5 years old. The 17 year old kid is not only holding his own, but thriving against that competition. He even got a hit off of a rehabbing Cody
Bolton, who has appeared in big league games.
Coming out of high school, Willits was known for his bat to ball skills. His hit tool was given a plus 60 grade by MLB Pipeline. However, you never really know how it will translate until he faces pro competition. There have been plenty of times where a hit tool gets over estimated in the scouting process.
The scouts have been spot on for Willits, and might have even underestimated him. In 20 at bats, Willits is hitting .400 and has only struck out once. That is completely mind blowing stuff for anyone, let alone a 17 year old.
Even crazier though is the whiff rate. In Willits first 36 swings, he swung and missed 3 times. That is an 8% miss rate for a 17 year old playing against grown men. This is rare stuff from a player who is showing rare skills.
You can see why he misses so much when you look at his swing. It is as simple as it gets. There are no wasted movements in his swing and he is so quick to the ball. He looks like a player who has been refining that swing his whole life, because well he has. It is clear that his father Reggie Willits has done a great job preparing his son for this moment.
Willits has been at Oklahoma practices over the years and has faced a lot of tough pitching in those live BP settings. Facing guys like Kyson Witherspoon, who went in the first round will prepare you well for pro pitching. It is why Willits is so unbothered by the velocity and the craft of pro pitchers. He has seen it all at just 17.
However, Willits is nowhere near a finished product because well, he is still a child. The biggest area where you can see that is in the power department. All 8 of Willits’ hits have been singles, mostly softly hit.
However, he still has plenty of time to fill out and add more impact. Adding that impact will be the difference between Willits becoming a quality big leaguer and a star big leaguer. His hit tool gives him a high floor, but the ceiling will only be so high if he is a singles hitter.
Given his age, I expect him to grow into solid power. He will never be a slugger, but I think he can develop into 15 home run power, maybe more. Even without the power, Willits is such an impressive player.
It has been a long time since the Nats have had a natural hitter like this in their pipeline. Even James Wood and Dylan Crews had more question marks about their pure hitting ability, though they had more power potential. There is no doubt that Eli Willits will hit, the only question is about how much power will come.
