Kansas City Royals: Four positives from shortened 2020 season

3) Adalberto Mondesi and Bobby Witt Jr gave us a glimpse of a superstar combination on the left side of the infield.

2020 looked like a lost season for Adalberto Mondesi following shoulder surgery in 2019, as he was hitting a paltry .179/.209/.231 after September 3rd. From September 4th to September 27th, Mondesi slashed .376/.424/.706 (202 wRC+) with 16 stolen bases and an average exit velocity of 94.1 mph. Mondesi began to be more selective in his plate approach and began to hit the ball hard consistently.

Mondesi has had stretches of brilliance in his career before, hitting .287/.317/.517 (122 wRC+), 26 extra base hits (13 home runs) with 29 stolen bases over the last 64 games he appeared in from July to October in 2018 and hitting .288/.325/.487 (107 wRC+), 26 extra base hits (6 home runs) with 20 stolen bases in the first 58 games he appeared in from March to May 2019.

When Mondesi is on top of his game, there may not be a more dynamic player in the league. His plus defensive ability and elite game changing speed are premiums at shortstop. If he ever puts it all together for a full season at the plate, we could be looking at statistics we have never seen before with the Royals at shortstop. A full season of health and preparation for Mondesi can yield a season hitting .285/.325/.500 with 20+ HRs and 60+ stolen bases.

This brings us to the summer camp performance of Bobby Witt Jr. who displayed a far more advanced approach at the plate than I previously thought he had. He was very selective and had an outstanding idea of the strikezone low. He made consistent contact and put together hit after hit against Royals starters.

Witt Jr also flashed leather playing around the infield. He showed enough speed on the basepaths to give an impression he could steal 25+ bases.

The current ETA has Witt Jr arriving in Kansas City in 2022. If he repeats his summer camp performance in spring training 2021, there is a chance he could fly through the Royals farm system and reach the MLB level by mid-summer 2021.

I do not like to use player comparisons with young players, but I feel like Witt Jr is going to follow Manny Machado’s path in development. Machado came up as a 19-year-old and hit .262/.294/.445 in 51 games at third base.

Machado’s second season saw him capture his first Gold Glove and his first All-Star selection when he hit .283/.314/.432 leading the league with 51 doubles. Machado’s power began to show up in his 4th MLB season, where he hit 30+ HRs for five consecutive seasons (2015 – 2019) and was on pace for 43 home runs in 2020.

Witt Jr has the plate approach to be better than Machado with his on-base numbers. Depending how Witt Jr adjusts to MLB pitching he could hit for a .280+ batting average. The home run power will develop as Witt Jr adds more strength to his frame, he has the swing mechanics to hit 30 homers per year.

Defensively Witt Jr is a plus defender at shortstop, if he moves to third base, he could be a perennially gold glove candidate. He has plus speed and could be a 20-30 stolen base type player a year.

The left-side of the Royals infield has the talent to be special and unprecedented in Kansas City. Royals fans should be very excited for this development.