Bobby Witt Jr. has already been treated like the center of the Royals’ universe. Now the voting should finally match the production.
Phase 2 of All-Star voting opened June 29, and the Kansas City shortstop is in position to turn a pair of reserve selections into his first starting nod in the Midsummer Classic. In each of the last two seasons, Witt made the All-Star Game but had to wait on the bench while someone else opened at shortstop. This time, the case for him to start is stronger than ever.
The numbers from Phase 1 backed that up. Witt finished with nearly a million more votes than Toronto Blue Jays infielder Andres Gimenez, and the gap wasn’t close. The question now is whether Kansas City’s fans - and the broader baseball audience - finish what they started.
The simplest case is also the strongest one: Witt has been the most valuable position player in the American League. Through 79 games, he owns 4.3 fWAR, which leads every position player in the league.
Not just shortstops. Not just infielders.
Everybody. Against Gimenez, the edge is even more dramatic, with Witt’s fWAR nearly triple his rival’s.
That kind of production is not new. Witt put up 8.0 fWAR in 2025, trailing only Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh in the AL and leading all primary shortstops.
In 2024, he was again among the league’s top five WAR producers. Three straight seasons of elite value at the game’s most demanding defensive position is exactly the sort of résumé the All-Star Game is supposed to reward.
And Witt’s value is not built on one skill. It’s built on all of them.
He became the first shortstop in MLB history to post two 30/30 seasons. He led the majors in hits in back-to-back years, piling up 211 in 2024 and 184 in 2025, something no player had done since Ichiro Suzuki at least shared the lead in five straight seasons from 2006 through 2010.
In 2025, he also topped MLB with 47 doubles, making him the first Royal to lead the majors outright in that category since Alex Gordon in 2012. His .332 average in 2024 made him only the second player ever to lead the majors in batting average during a 30-homer, 30-steal season, joining Mookie Betts in 2018.
This season has stayed true to the formula. Witt is hitting .288, which fits his career track.
He leads the American League with 28 stolen bases even though he missed a week of games. He’s on pace for a third straight Gold Glove.
The power hasn’t shown up at his usual rate yet, but the underlying numbers say the contact quality is there: a 93.3 mph average exit velocity, a 52.4% hard-hit rate, a 12.6% barrel rate, and a .388 expected wOBA, which sits 32 points above his actual .356 wOBA. In other words, the ball has not fully started bouncing his way.
Even without the full power output, the package is complete. He hits for average.
He runs. He defends at an elite level.
He throws. And when the power arrives, that’s in the mix too.
There isn’t another American League player, let alone another shortstop, checking every one of those boxes like this.
That matters even more because of where the Royals are right now. Kansas City sits at 35-50 and last in the AL Central, and the season has been wrecked by injuries.
Cole Ragans needs elbow surgery, Vinnie Pasquantino is out with a right hamate fracture, Maikel Garcia has missed time, and Carlos Estevez’s return has stalled. The rotation has been patched together any way it can.
Through all of that, Witt has kept going, even with a Grade 1 MCL sprain. He has done it while the lineup has lost its first baseman, its starting center fielder and its ace.
He’s done it while protecting Carter Jensen in front of him, while holding down shortstop, and while leading the league in steals. In a season where almost nothing has gone right around him, he has still produced at the highest level of any AL position player.
That old “best player on a bad team” argument usually hurts a player in All-Star voting. Winning tends to carry weight.
But Phase 1 already showed that fans are looking past the Royals’ record and seeing the player. Bobby Witt Jr. has been the best shortstop in the American League for three straight years, and the vote should say so.
In Other News...
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The scope is sprawling, covering roughly 91 acres and split into 10 planned areas, with the timeline stretched well beyond the first shovels in the ground. Construction could begin this year and run through 2031, while the broader district is expected to keep unfolding all the way to 2040, depending on market demand and how quickly each phase can advance. [Read more 🡒]