Kansas City Royals news: Is Bobby Witt Jr. a leadoff hitter?

Matt Quatraro is having Bobby Witt Jr. leadoff in spring training a bit.

“We talked about it earlier in the spring,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Surprise, Arizona. “We talked and toyed with the idea of all different lineups. But this, specifically, was to give him a chance (to bat leadoff), because I’m pretty sure he is going to do it with Team USA (in the upcoming World Baseball Classic). Let him do it for a couple of days before he leaves.”

Anne Rogers writes that Maikel Garcia is focused on winning another Gold Glove

The goal was to work on Garcia’s first-step quickness and both his backhand and forehand plays. There’s a reason third base is called the hot corner, and if Garcia can see as much quick spin and create as many angles as he can in practice, theoretically, it makes it easier in the game.
“The spin when the right-handed hitter hits to my backhand is a little bit tough in the game because it’s the big leagues and they hit it hard,” Garcia said. “So it’s kind of hard to read it. But when I moved to third, I just started waiting for the ball, don’t go forward too much because they hit it too hard. And then when we [went] to the forehand, we [were] trying to work on my first step, right after I got the ball with the backhand. That’s going to help me because I can get to more balls in the hole.”

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The Royals handed out organizational awards for 2025.

“It’s just a reminder of how strong our culture is, which we take a lot of pride in,” president of baseball operations and general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We want to celebrate accomplishments and celebrate our team, but there are times when we need to celebrate individual accomplishments, and this day is one of them.”

Yahoo Sports! ranks the Royals #9 in baseball for most 26-and-under talent.

Joining Witt and Garcia as the next potential core pieces of Kansas City’s lineup are Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, who had wildly different debuts last season. Caglianone arrived in June with a heaping helping of hype following his legendary collegiate career and speedy ascent through the minors, but he faceplanted as a rookie, ranking as one of the least productive hitters in baseball. That Cags was exposed so harshly was not a massive surprise, considering his hyper-aggressive approach. Now it’s on the talented 23-year-old to flush his forgettable debut and figure out how to tap into his tremendous raw power more reliably against the best arms on the planet.

Baseball America ranks the Royals #13 in their preseason power rankings.

The Royals’ top-tier talent is good enough to claim a playoff spot. It will be up to the supporting cast, and possibly two young hitters who could step forward. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is an MVP candidate. A healthy season from lefthander Cole Ragans could result in Cy Young Award votes. The Royals developed third baseman Maikel Garcia, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and lefthanders Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron into their best selves. The X-factor for Kansas City is the performance of second-year slugger Jac Caglianone and rookie catcher Carter Jensen. Breakthroughs from them would lengthen the lineup.

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