Why Royals' 2025 Playoff Chances Hinge On One Player, Per Insider
The Kansas City Royals made it to the playoffs in 2024, and it was one of the best stories in sports. A young underdog making things happen for themselves when few believed they could.
None of that guarantees the Royals will be back in 2025.
After a mediocre offseason where the Royals made some solid additions, but didn't improve at the positions that plagued them the most in 2024, the pressure is high to make it back to October. And that may frankly be easier said than done.
Kansas City will attempt to build on their success in a tougher-than-usual American League Central, but they will need their franchise player to continue his otherworldly production. As one insider puts it, the Royals will go as far as shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. can take them.
On Friday, ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote that the Royals' season "hinges" on Witt, the 24-year-old phenom who finished second in AL Most Valuable Player voting behind the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge in 2024.
"Earlier this spring, a longtime evaluator said he thinks Witt is the best player in the world," Passan wrote. "Better than Shohei Ohtani even? Well, yes, he said, at least until Ohtani is back pitching.
"Players of Witt's caliber carry teams, and one season after he willed the Royals into October, his return engagement -- and the Royals' ability to stack a better offense around Witt -- will similarly dictate their fortunes."
Last season, Witt hit 32 home runs, stole 31 bases, and won a Gold Glove, while setting a Royals single-season record with 10.4 fWAR. The issue is that the Royals may need him to put up similar numbers to return to the 85-90 range in the win column, since few other players can be counted on to carry the lineup.
It looks as though the Royals have dodged a bullet with Witt's scary hit-by-pitch from Wednesday, as the star's absence isn't expected to be a long one. Whether he's available for Opening Day, though, remains to be seen.
And every day without the best version of Witt is a day the Royals will struggle to get in the win column.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org