This Bobby Witt Jr. Stat Will Leave MLB Fans Scratching Their Heads

It's hard to believe

Apr 10, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) dives into third base during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is a part of what might be one of the most puzzling statistics from the start of the 2026 MLB season.

Witt has been stranded 29 out of the 30 times he's reached base safely so far in 2026, as first pointed out by Dan Clark on X, formerly known as Twitter. The 25-year-old has started the season 16-for-59 at the plate in the first 16 games. He's also reached base 12 times via a walk, two of which were intentional, and twice on a fielder's choice. Despite this, and his league-leading eight stolen bases, Witt has somehow only scored once so far in 2026.

Last year, the two-time All-Star was tied for 13th in the league with 99 runs scored. In fact, outside of his rookie year, when he scored 82 runs, Witt has crossed the plate at least 97 times in each of the past three seasons. In 2024, he even scored 125 runs, which was third in the entire league.

Could the Royals consider lineup changes to capitalize on Bobby Witt Jr. getting on base?

Apr 5, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) tags out Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) at home plate during the third inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

While it's still early in the season, Kansas City may need to tweak its lineup at some point if this trend of Witt being stranded on base continues. So far in 2026, the Royals are tied for the fourth-fewest runs scored in the league with 54. Their 50 RBIs also rank 27th out of 30 MLB teams this season to date.

Witt is primarily hitting second in the lineup behind Maikel Garcia, who's been solid out of the leadoff spot to begin the year, going 19-for-62 with 10 runs scored. But Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, who are generally hitting behind Witt, both have .153 batting averages to start the season. Pasquantino has seven RBIs, while Perez only has two. If both sluggers start to heat up at the plate, they could certainly help drive in Witt more often. If they continue to struggle offensively, though, that's when the Royals might have to switch things up in the heart of the order.

Notably, Kansas City's shortstop has yet to hit a home run in 2026. In fact, he has just three doubles as his only extra-base hits so far this season. Once Witt starts to showcase some of the power that baseball fans know he possesses, that will also ensure he scores more runs than he has through the first 16 games of the year.