BALTIMORE — Red Sox veteran Alex Bregman made a bold prediction during Roman Anthony ’s first week in the major leagues, saying the 21-year-old would become “one of the best hitters in all of baseball ."

“He’s already hit a ball 111 (mph exit velocity) in the big leagues. I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my career,” Bregman said back then.

Bregman’s claim initially seemed exaggerated to stress Anthony’s talent, but Statcast data confirmed its accuracy. Bregman’s career max exit velocity is 109.6 mph. Anthony had a 111.2 mph lineout in his second career MLB at-bat.

The question then becomes: Is big-time exit velocity even that important or is it just a cool, flashy metric?

After all, Bregman has hit for power throughout his career (41 homers in 2019, 31 homers in 2018) despite b

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