Bobby Witt Jr. 2026 Fantasy Baseball Profile: ADP, Projections & Five-Category Upside
After a historic 2024 season set an almost impossible bar, Bobby Witt still delivered elite five-category production in 2025 and remained one of fantasy baseball’s safest early-round building blocks. With improving quality of contact, elite durability, and legitimate 40/40 upside, the Royals’ superstar shortstop enters 2026 drafts as a league-winning cornerstone.
SS1 – Bobby Witt, Kansas City Royals (NFBC ADP – 3)
Witt underachieved expectations last year after posting explosive stats in 2024. Despite his regression, Witt was still ranked seventh in FPGscore (7.93). He led the American League in hits (184) for the second consecutive year, while also setting a new career high in doubles (47) at the expense of his home runs (23).
Both his strikeout rate (18.2%) and walk rate (7.1%) backed up in 2025. Witt has maintained a strong RBI rate in every year in the majors, but he failed to match his elite level (21.7%) last season (16.5%). His average hit rate (1.696) moved in the wrong direction, suggesting closer to 25 home runs rather than 35 home runs. Witt also had a pullback in his contact batting average (.369 – .398 in 2024).
His exit velocity (93.3) and hard-hit rate (48.5%) were career highs while continuing to have a reasonable floor in his launch angle (15.2) and barrel rate (12.5%). Witt extended his streak with a flyball swing path (42.8%), but his HR/FB rate (10.6%) is well below that of the elite power hitters.
Witt hit well against lefties (.328), but only one ball left the park, leading to only 12 RBIs. Over his last 72 games, he hit .308 with 53 runs, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases.
Bobby Witt Jr. 2026 Fantasy Baseball Outlook
Fantasy Outlook: Over the past three seasons, Witt has been a top-six hitter in each year while providing a high floor in all five categories. His batting average in 2024 (.332) could be an outlier, but he still ranked seventh last year. I love his potential, and the Royals’ lineup is getting better. If the stars align, Witt has 40/40 potential with plenty of help in the other three categories. He’s only missed 10 games over the past three seasons.
Witt’s slight power dip masks a profile that continues to trend toward another monster fantasy campaign, especially with a rising supporting cast in Kansas City. If his HR/FB rate rebounds even modestly, he has a realistic path to finishing as the No. 1 overall player in fantasy baseball.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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