4 deeper storylines for KC Royals fans to follow during 2025 All-Star Game

On Tuesday night, baseball's best of the best will congregate at Truist Park to play the 95th annual MLB All-Star Game.

For every team's fanbase, their eyes will certainly be on their respective representatives. This will be no different for the Royals faithful, who after a bit of rightful rectification from MLB last week, now have four All-Stars to cheer on in Atlanta in Bobby Witt Jr., Kris Bubic, Carlos Estévez and Maikel Garcia.

However, there's plenty of deeper storylines beyond just the performance of KC's All-Star quartet on Tuesday night for Royals fans to keep an eye on. Let's explore some of those headlines.

4 deeper storylines for KC Royals fans to follow during All-Star game

Will Bobby Witt Jr. outshine Jacob Wilson at shortstop?

While he may not look as strong so far in 2025 than he did when the 2024 season wrapped and he finished as AL MVP runner-up, there's been some strong debate among fans on whether or not Bobby Witt Jr. should be the one starting over Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson at shortstop for the American League.

There's arguments to be made either way, as Wilson has burst onto the big league scene and is having an excellent season, specifically at the dish, but Bobby Witt Jr. is still one of leagues highest fWAR performers.

This is now the second year that Witt has been passed over for an All-Star starting role, as Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson was the AL's choice at short in 2024. Neither really got the leg up over the other, as Henderson went 0-for-2 while Witt went 0-for-1, but we all know how Witt separated himself from the rest in the second-half of the season.

Could Witt outshine Wilson when he gets his chance in Tuesday's game? And will Witt's season kick into another gear in the second-half this year as well, making his starter "snub" look like an undisputed mistake by year's end?

Will Maikel Garcia prove MLB wrong an outshine 5 names selected ahead of him?

While Witt might have a bone to pick about not being a starter, Garcia has five to pick for being passed over as either a reserve or replacement on five separate occasions, before receiving his nod last Friday.

There's one of those five names he won't have a chance to outshine and that's Alex Bregman, who was replaced after only being activated from the injured list due to a quad strain this past weekend.

But between Jazz Chisholm Jr. (who's played significantly less games than Garcia), Bregman's replacement Junior Caminero (who besides power stats Garcia clears statistically this season) and Isaac Paredes and Zach McKinstry (who were justified but virtually just as productive as Garcia) there's still plenty of names that Garcia can attempt to outperform and prove the doubters wrong if he finds his way onto the field.

What will the former KC Royals get up to?

While there may be four current KC Royals on this list, there are multiple former Royals who will also be on display on Tuesday.

The most notable is Ryan O'Hearn, who's looked night and day from what he did after the Royals cut ties with him after the 2022 season. The now Baltimore Orioles slugger was voted by fans to be the AL's starting DH amid a career year at the plate where he's hitting .286 with an .840 OPS and 138 wRC+.

Then there's Aroldis Chapman, who's turning back the clock with the Boston Red Sox with a sterling season as their closer, converting 17 saves while pitching to the tune of a 1.18 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and .143 BAA. Chapman only spent half a season in Kansas City in 2023 but was a solid 2.45 ERA reliever for them before being dealt to Texas at the trade deadline in a deal that brought back ace Cole Ragans.

Lastly, the lesser known former Royal, but former Royals pitcher nonetheless, is on the NL side in San Diego Padres reliever Jason Adam. Adam started his career with the Royals back in 2018, pitching to an unremarkable 6.12 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 32.1 innings. Now, he's established himself as one of baseball's best bullpen arms with the Friars, throwing to a 1.70 ERA in 47.2 so far in 2025.

Could we be witnessing any future KC Royals on Tuesday?

We've covered current Royals and past Royals, but what about future Royals?

The July 31 MLB trade deadline is just weeks away and the Royals - who still fall in the heart of the AL Wild Card race despite their poor season so far - have still yet to officially finalize their deadline strategy.

The Royals have been linked in the past to some big time offense talents in 2025 to help kickstart this scuffling offense. Some of those names include Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers, Arizona Diamondbacks' slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez and even Minnesota Twins star outfielder Byron Buxton.

Obviously, how Kansas City performs in the coming weeks after the All-Star break will determine if these links will mean something and the Royals still find themselves in a place to be buyers, but until they decide, the All-Star Game gives Royals fans the chance to see several potential targets on the field at one time.