Pasquantino knows all too well about Witt’s speed. It’s the sort of thing that comes with playing alongside a five-tool player for so long.

But Pasquantino couldn’t resist a second opinion Thursday. As he stepped into the batter’s box against the Cleveland Guardians, he asked Guardians catcher Bo Naylor if he had ever seen someone run as fast as Witt.

“It’s more so like, ‘Isn’t that insane?’” Pasquantino recalled of the conversation.

In the third inning, Witt beat out a ground ball to Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio. The ball jumped off his bat at 103.5 mph and got to Rocchio quickly.

Witt flew down the baseline. He beat the throw and extended the inning for Pasquantino to get an at-bat.

“I asked him if that’s the fastest he has ever run to first (base),” Pasquantino said. “He said no, but I’m sure that had to be ridiculously fast.”

Witt led Major League Baseball with a 30.5 feet/second sprint speed in 2024, per Statcast. On Thursday, Witt reached first base in 3.96 seconds to record the infield hit. It was the sixth fastest home-to-first time in his career and the 13th time he has done it under four seconds.

This offseason, he worked to become more efficient stealing bases. He recorded one steal in Thursday’s game against the Guardians.

It was a big one.

Witt got into scoring position after the infield single. The stolen base changed the complexion of Pasquantino’s at-bat as he blasted a 79-mph curveball into the right-field seats.

It was Pasquantino’s first home run of the 2025 season. The homer came off Guardians starter Ben Lively, who got the start after teammate Tanner Bibee was scratched due to illness.

“I think that home run doesn’t happen without him beating that ball out,” Pasquantino said.

Witt described the moment after the game. He felt he had a chance to get on base given where he hit the baseball.

“Any time you put the ball in play, you just try to run hard and try to beat it out,” Witt said.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro felt the infield single was paramount to the early lead.

“Without him beating that out, Vinnie doesn’t get to the plate,” Quatraro said. “So clearly, his speed was a huge influence. The stolen base sets us up for two runs if Vinnie gets a single. But the homer is extra icing on the cake.”

Witt is expected to be among the frontrunners for the American League MVP Award this season. And the Royals have come to expect similar plays from him each night.

On Thursday, Witt showcased why his speed can make a true difference.

“That whole inning changes with him getting to first,” Pasquantino said. “That’s why he is who he is. In my mind, he is the best player in the game for a reason and he does things like that. He is going to help this team so much this year and in the future that it’s just ridiculous.”