The Kansas City Royals are not having the season fans had hoped for. After making the playoffs in 2024 and falling just short in 2025, they have taken a massive step backwards in 2026.
Entering Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, they owned a 35-53 record. Without question, Kansas City will be selling at this year’s trade deadline, and even in a weaker American League, almost all hope is lost on making it back to the postseason.
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Still, the Royals will not go into a full rebuild. Instead, they are heading toward a retool era, and the biggest reason why is because they have a superstar on their roster in shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt is one of the most underrated players in the league and arguably the best all-around player in baseball. Defensively, he is not just a two-time Gold Glove winner but also a Platinum Glove recipient, making him the best defender at the most important position on the field.
He is also an elite base-stealing threat, currently leading the American League with 29 steals while being caught just four times. At the plate, he has posted a .290 batting average, .362 on-base percentage, .832 OPS, 12 home runs and 36 RBIs. Overall, he has accumulated nearly five WAR and it is barely past the midpoint of the season.
Witt’s excellence is being recognized across the league, and on Saturday all his hard work paid off in a major way.
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MLB announced the starters for this year’s All-Star Game, and for the first time in his career, Witt will be a starter. This marks his third straight selection, but his first two came as a reserve. The Royals celebrated the accomplishment on social media. “YOUR American League starting shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr.!” the Royals wrote on X.
While the season may not have gone the way Witt had hoped, it is still a meaningful moment for a player who continues to perform at an elite level regardless of what is happening around him. He gives Royals fans a reason to tune in every single night, and that matters even in a lost season.
Witt is fortunately under contract through at least the 2030 season, so he will be in Kansas City for quite some time as the organization works to build a better group around him. His deal is also team-friendly, giving the organization some wiggle room to add more talent.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
