MLB Network Blasted Over Top 10 Shortstop Rankings For Disrespecting Bobby Witt Jr.

The shortstop position is at an incredible place in Major League Baseball right now. But what the Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. is doing stands out above the rest.
In 2025, Witt became the first shortstop in MLB history to put up two 30-30 seasons (30 home runs, 30 stolen bases), and he did it in back-to-back years. He also racked up an incredible 9.4 bWAR, the most of any shortstop, and finished second in American League Most Valuable Player voting.
As Witt's star continues to rise, Royals fans and everyone within the organization will confidently tell you he's already the number-one shortstop in MLB. But the league's television network apparently doesn't agree.
MLB Network aired their "Top 10 Shortstops Right Now" special on Wednesday night, and Witt was laughably ranked fourth, behind Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets.
On social media, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino immediately took "The Shredder," the moniker used by MLB Network to present its rankings, to task over its disrespectful ranking of Witt.
"When I first saw this I thought it was saying top 4 player and I thought that was low, but this says shortstops???????? " Pasquantino wrote. "Stuff like this doesn’t matter and is for fans but this leads me to question the (Shredder's) credibility."
To that end, here is what MLB.com's article posting the new rankings had to say about "The Shredder's" methodology:
"Using rankings based on past performance, various offensive and defensive metrics (including both advanced statistics and traditional numbers) and analysis by the MLB Network research team, 'The Shredder' produced its list of the 10 best players at each position right now," reads the website.
In other words, they're keeping it under wraps. And if they want to tweak the rankings a bit here and there to get people riled up, no one will ever be the wiser.
For the record, here are the bWAR totals of the three shortstops that finished ahead of Witt in the rankings from last season: Henderson 9.1, Seager 5.0, Lindor 6.9.
At the end of the day, Witt is already paid, he has his MVP runner-up on his resume, and people who watch him even semi-regularly know he's the best shortstop in the game right now. And the craziest part is that he doesn't turn 25 until June, so he's only going to keep getting better.
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