Bobby Witt Jr.’s latest MLB accolade a sign of brighter days to come for Royals

The Kansas City Royals were treated to some exciting player news to start the week on Monday after their franchise cornerstone in Bobby Witt Jr. was named American Player of the Week. This came after sensational showings from the shortstop extraordinaire in their full week of games against a pair of division rivals in the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers, which they came out with a winning record at 4-3. They’re now even closer to making up for the damage done by a 7-15 start and are well within reach of the top spots in the division at just two games back of Cleveland for first.

In 29 plate appearances across seven games last week, Witt slashed .407/.448/.815 with three homers, four RBI, a pair of steals and a 246 wRC+.

It sounds simple, and frankly kind of silly to say, but the Royals are better when Witt is at his best and looking more like an MVP. It might not be ground-breaking news, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth talking about. After a slower start in comparison to what we know Witt can be, the superstar has been just that since, dating back to a breakout three-hit game against the Tigers on April 16.

And this week was just a microcosm of the transformative ability Witt has on this entire team when he looks like the bona fide star the baseball world has come to know him to be. Before April 16, the Kansas City Royals were floundering at just 7-11, tied with the Boston Red Sox for second last in the American League and only bettering the Chicago White Sox by a single game.

Since then though, the Royals are much more of a .500-looking team at 12-11. And in an oddly underwhelming AL landscape this season, with just a pair of teams with records better than two games above .500, that’ll certainly keep them in contention conversation. As it stands right now, Kansas City sits tied with the Texas Rangers at just half a game out of the final AL Wild Card spot.

Royals’ offense looks night and day since Bobby Witt Jr.’s bounce-back

Let’s examine the offense in particular since that aforementioned April 16 game in Detroit when all appeared to change for Witt. The Royals’ lineup has gone from a bottom tier unit with a 79 wRC+, tied for 28th in MLB, to one of the more effective groups in baseball, highlighted by a 110 wRC+ that sits sixth in baseball in that span.

And we’re seeing names that were struggling mightily to start the year suddenly break out of their shells and look more like the major leaguers the Royals faithful expected them to be in a contention year.

Vinnie Pasquantino sports a 117 wRC+ in this stretch, shaking his brutal funk. Maikel Garcia still remains a breath of fresh air at the top of the order with a 117 wRC+ himself. Isaac Collins looks like the center piece of the offseason trade with the Milwaukee Brewers that Royals fans hoped he’d be with a 116 wRC+. And role players like Starling Marte (157 wRC+), Nick Loftin (122 wRC+) and Lane Thomas (107 wRC+) are much more positive contributors themselves.

Is there still work to be done? Yes, Salvador Perez is the perfect example of someone who hasn’t yet seen the light of day amidst this period of improvement, sporting a 66 wRC+ in that span since April 16. And the rising star in Jac Caglianone could be better himself, with a mildly below-average 97 wRC+ mark in this stretch. However, as the saying goes Rome wasn’t built in a day and this is going to be a continuous process.

The MLB season is a long one, but the Royals have already come a long way in a matter of weeks to where the started the new campaign, putting more and more fans’ minds at ease that perhaps this isn’t going to be a lost year – especially when they have have their MVP looking like an MVP once again.