Royals Analyst Raises Concern Over Bobby Witt Jr.'s Start To 2025 Season
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As was the case in 2024, the Kansas City Royals are likely to go only as far as Bobby Witt Jr. can take them this season.
Witt, the runner-up in last year's American League Most Valuable Player race, is a rising superstar at 24 years old. He's arguably the number-one shortstop in Major League Baseball, and he's already signed in Kansas City through at least the 2030 season.
On the surface, Witt is off to a fine start to the new year, through the smallest of sample sizes. He went 3-for-13 with one hit each in the Royals' first three games, including a game-winning RBI double on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians.
A Royals writer, however, found one part of Witt's game from opening weekend that he believes is a concern.
On Monday, Royals Review's Jeremy Greco raised the alarm about Witt's five strikeouts in those first three games, saying an increase in strikeouts could be a reason for long-lasting concern about the youngster's ability to repeat his 2024 success.
"Bobby is one of two players to start the year with a three-game hitting streak for the Royals. He’s also struck out five times in 14 plate appearances, and he’s only walked once. Some of you will say it’s too early to worry about Bobby, it’s only three games, and he’s still getting big hits," Greco wrote.
"But striking out more than a third of the time is a lot and Bobby can’t just be good if this iteration of the Royals is going to compete, he has to be otherworldly again. If he’s not otherworldly, the Royals offense may not be able to put up enough runs to succeed. He wasn’t really a guy who struck out much last year, and the increase in whiffs has me very concerned."
What we have here is a case of small sample-size theatre. Witt's 35% strikeout rate looks concerning compared to a 15% K-rate last year, but he's had two percent of the plate appearances he stacked up in 2024.
Of course, the trend continuing for several weeks would be worrisome, and the fact that Witt was hit on the hand by a pitch in spring training could also be something to monitor. But for now, this isn't yet worth going full panic mode.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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