A Cool Look at the Baseball History that Kansas City Royals' Superstar is Projected For in 2024
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With spring training less than three weeks away, it's time to start getting excited about baseball season! There will be lots of great stories in the 2024 season including Shohei Ohtani's first year in Los Angeles, Ronald Acuna's encore and plenty of history will be made.
Along those lines, Sarah Langs of MLB.com took a look at some of the historic feats that could be coming this season (with some help from the Fangraphs Steamer Projections). Up first? Kansas City Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr:
From Langs...
After recording 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases as a rookie in 2022, Witt reached 30 and 49, respectively, last season. This year, he’s projected for 30 and 42, which would be quite historic. Witt is the only player in MLB history to have at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in each of the first two seasons of his career, so he’d be the first to do so in each of his first three, as well. But this isn’t just 20 and 30, it’s another 30-30 season. Last year, Witt became one of just six shortstops with such a season, along with 2023 Francisco Lindor, 2008 Hanley Ramirez, 2007 Jimmy Rollins, 1998 Alex Rodriguez and 1996 Barry Larkin. The thing about that list? Nobody’s on it twice, which means Witt would be the first shortstop in baseball history with multiple 30-30 seasons.
The 23-year-old Texas native finished seventh in the American League MVP voting last season and was fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022. Lifetime, he's a .265 hitter with a .307 on-base percentage.
The Royals finished last in 2023 but appear primed for a resurgence this year. They've added veterans all over the diamond, signing Adam Frazier and Hunter Renfroe on the position player side. They've also brought in Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Chris Stratton and Will Smith on the pitching front.
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