Royals Bobby Witt Jr.'s place in ESPN's top shortstop rankings is a no-brainer

The Kansas City Royals are in a rare place for this franchise. Most seasons bring at least one player who grades out as well above average on a league scale, whether it was prime Alex Gordon, Joakim Soria, or the occasional one year breakout.

But Kansas City has not often had a guy who lives in the conversation as the best at his position, much less one of the best players in baseball.

That is the luxury the Royals have with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and ESPN’s latest positional rankings, where Witt reigned supreme, are just another reminder of that.

Bobby Witt Jr. stands alone in ESPN's latest positional ranking.

Buster Olney’s newest positional top 10 landed on shortstop, a spot that never lacks star power. Defense has always been the entry fee at the position, but right now the offensive ceiling makes it something else entirely.

Olney called this the “golden age of shortstops,” and it is hard to push back. If there is a baseball position that mirrors football’s quarterback in importance and influence, it is shortstop. The Chiefs have their signal caller across the parking lot. The Royals have their franchise engine at short.

Olney ranked Witt as the game’s best shortstop, writing that the Texas native “checks every box.” Even in what Witt joked about as a down year, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting, led MLB in hits, and posted an .852 OPS. Following up a record-setting 2024 was never going to be easy, and Witt still made it look routine.

Olney also included the perspective of the person who knows Witt as well as anyone in the organization. Royals president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo, who signed Witt to the largest contract in franchise history, summed it up.

"And Witt's drive to improve is relentless. J.J. Picollo, the head of baseball operations for the Royals, wrote in a text, '[Witt] is so easy to deal with because he takes such good care of himself that we have little-to-no concern. More of what we discuss with him is how we can keep him fresh and strong throughout the season...Some of the finer points of base stealing are things that are always being discussed, but he is clearly a very good baserunner'."

Buster Olney, ESPN

Royals fans already understand how much Witt means to this team’s present and future, even with the opt out sitting out there after the 2030 season.

He has established himself as Kansas City’s clear top player, and now the national lens is treating him like what he is: the standard at his position.

Sometimes it is just nice when the outside world does not overthink it.