Did Royals 24-Year-Old Superstar Make ESPN's 'April All-Star Team?'
In this story:
If there's an All-Star team to assemble, Bobby Witt Jr. is usually on it.
Witt was a first-time participant in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2024, but he's been playing at an All-Star level since early in the summer of 2023. And he's been completely dominant in that time frame, including first-team All-MLB recognition last year at the stacked shortstop position.
Witt, 24, isn't off to a crazy start to the 2025 season by his own lofty standards. But by anyone else's standards, he's been unbelievable, posting a .315 batting average, 145 OPS+, and 1.6 bWAR so far through only 29 games.
How has Witt stacked up against the best shortstops in baseball in April? Well, one ESPN writer believes he's earned his rightful place at the top.
On Monday, ESPN's David Schoenfield named Witt to the publication's "April All-Star team" ahead of superstars at his position from both the American League and National League.
"This is a coin flip between Witt and the Mets' Francisco Lindor, but we'll go with Witt, who is a little better on the bases and in the field," Schoenfield wrote. "Indeed, with 1.5 WAR entering Sunday, Witt is on pace for 8.7 WAR -- not much off his 9.4 total of 2024, even though the home runs have yet to come in bunches."
Witt does have just two home runs so far, well off the marks of 30 and 32 that he set in each of the past two seasons. All it takes is one good week, though, to get right back on track in that category.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Royals need to pick up the slack. Witt is once again dominating the team lead in WAR among position players, with outfielder Drew Waters currently holding second place with 0.5 WAR in just 15 games played.
Worse still, the 15 position players who have appeared in at least one game for the Royals this season, including Witt, have combined for 0.2 WAR. No All-Star can carry a team that's otherwise full of below-replacement players.
More MLB: Royals 26-Year-Old Gets Real About 'Pressure' Of Hanging Onto MLB Roster Spot
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
Follow jrobertsbsbl