Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. Projected To Join Aaron Judge On Team USA
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The Kansas City Royals are off to a slow start after winning 86 games last year and securing the second American League Wild Card spot. The team is 8-14 through 22 games and sits in third place in the weak AL Central division, 5 1/2 games back of the first-place Detroit Tigers.
However, despite their slow start, they have a generational talent at shortstop in Bobby Witt Jr., who finished second in the AL MVP race last year behind Aaron Judge.
Judge is set to be the captain for Team USA in next year's World Baseball Classic. FanSided's Caleb Moody predicts that Witt could join Judge next spring on Team USA.
"There's not much to argue here about the last season's American League MVP runner-up, as waxing poetic about Bobby Witt Jr. might one of the easiest things to do in baseball," Moody writes.
"Not only is he the best American shortstop, after an over 10 fWAR season in 2024 (10.4) he's the best shortstop in all of baseball. And looking at it from a broader scale, other than Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, Witt makes a sound argument to be considered the third best player in general in all of baseball."
Witt posted a 9.4 WAR last year. slashing .332/.379/.488 with 32 home runs, 109 RBI, 31 stolen bases and an .977 OPS. This year, he's already hitting .310 with two homers, eight RBI and an .867 OPS.
He could be a great addition to Team USA and give them a strong chance to win another title.
More MLB: Royals Writer Raises Concern Over Young Infielder's Slow Start
Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.
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