Looking back at draft-night expectations can be a brutal game, and Nick Loftin has been living with one of the heavier ones in the Royals’ system.
When Kansas City took him, the buzz was loud. Then-MLB.com beat writer Jeffrey Flanagan opened his story by saying, “The Royals may have found their next Whit Merrifield.”
General manager Dayton Moore also said the club was seriously considering Loftin with the fourth overall pick before ultimately going with pitcher Asa Lacy. That kind of talk puts a player under a spotlight fast.
It made sense why the bar got set so high. Merrifield had been an All-Star and was coming off back-to-back .300 seasons while bouncing all over the field.
The other names in the conversation at No. 4 - Austin Martin and Lacy - were viewed as the best right-handed hitting and left-handed pitching prospects in the draft, respectively.
For a while, Loftin didn’t come close to that standard. He was fine in the minors, then got his first taste of the majors during the Royals’ rough 2023 season.
He kept getting chances in 2024 and 2025, but the production wasn’t there. Over his first 142 big league games from 2023 through 2025, he hit just .220/.294/.323.
That’s why his 2026 season mattered so much. Going into the year, his role had shrunk to utility duty, and it wasn’t even clear whether he’d be able to hang around in the majors.
He had just turned 27 the previous September, so this wasn’t some long runway situation. He needed a real step forward.
And he delivered one.
Loftin blended the patience he showed in 2024 with the power he flashed in 2025, and he did it while hitting for a much better average than either of those seasons. The final line was a career-best .240/.322/.388, good for a 98 wRC+. He also hit eight home runs and came through in some important spots, including a go-ahead homer against Detroit in July.
He began the season on the Opening Day roster as a utility player, but injuries quickly pushed him into a bigger role. Jonathan India went on the injured list in the middle of April and had shoulder surgery at the end of the month, opening up a lot of work at second base.
Maikel Garcia missed time with right and left hamstring strains and a left hand issue, which created more innings at third. Bobby Witt Jr. was limited to 143 games because of injuries, so even shortstop had some openings.
Loftin covered all three spots, though only seven innings came at short. Third base ended up being where he fit best defensively, and his work there earned him a Gold Glove nomination. Fangraphs credited him with 1.3 WAR in 118 games, a strong return for a player who was asked to help stabilize the infield.
The bigger question now is where he fits next. Third base seems crowded because Garcia is the better hitter, baserunner, and defender.
Second base belongs to Michael Massey, who had his own breakout year and has a longer track record of steady offense and defense there. Witt is locked in at shortstop for as long as he’s in Kansas City.
That leaves the outfield as a possibility, and the Royals do need right-handed help there. The problem is that Loftin’s defense in the outfield has been rough, and the numbers back up what the eye test says.
So the likeliest answer is the same one he had this season: a useful utility role, the kind where he can cover a position for a long stretch and keep things from falling apart. That may not sound glamorous, but players who can do that are valuable.
Loftin gave the Royals real value in 2026, and it wasn’t his fault the pitching staff struggled around him. With better pitching, his season might have looked even better.
In Other News...
Royals Fans May Not Love This New Vinnie Pasquantino Speculation
Jake Bauers is off the board after agreeing to a four-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, and that has the Milwaukee Brewers sorting through a new set of first-base possibilities. The list is already familiar enough around the league: free agent Ty France, internal options such as Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Fischer, and now a trade idea that would pull Vinnie Pasquantino out of Kansas City.
For Royals fans, that last name is the one worth watching. Pasquantino remains the kind of player other clubs would love to pry loose if they think the price is right, and the Brewers are at least being mentioned as a team that could explore it while they weigh their alternatives. Nothing has been decided, but any rumor involving a young bat like Pasquantino is the sort of thing that can get a fan base paying close attention fast. [Read more 🡒]
Bobby Witt Jr. Just Raised The Stakes For Kansas Citys Future
Bobby Witt Jr. spent the season doing exactly what the Royals have been hoping for since he arrived: playing like a franchise centerpiece and making it look sustainable. Even with injuries limiting him to 143 games, he still finished third in American League MVP voting with 188 points, added another All-MLB First Team nod for the third straight year and picked up the MLBPAA Heart & Hustle Award for the third time, a strong reminder that his production and approach keep stacking up.
For Kansas City, the bigger takeaway is where this leaves the organization going forward. Manager Matt Quatraro and general manager J.J. Picollo both pointed to Witts growth and preparation as signs of what he means to the club beyond one standout season, and the Royals challenge now is clear: keep building a roster that matches his trajectory. After a year like this, the stakes around supporting him only get higher. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Fans Still Feel The Sting Of One Pitcher Who Got Away
The Royals front office made one of its most scrutinized moves on March 27, 1987, when Kansas City sent pitcher David Cone and outfielder Chris Jelic to the Mets for Rick Anderson, Mauro Gozzo and catcher Ed Hearn. At the time, it was the kind of swap teams make hoping to balance present needs with future upside, but history has not been kind to the return Kansas City received.
Cone went on to build a successful career and eventually came back to Kansas City, where he later delivered a Cy Young Award-winning season in 1992. The players the Royals got in the original deal had limited impact, which is why the trade has long stood as one of the more lopsided in franchise history and still lingers as a sore spot for fans who remember what might have been. [Read more 🡒]