KC Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. starting in the minor leagues is the right decision

The decision has been made. The KC Royals optioned Bobby Witt Jr. to the minor leagues to start the 2021 season.

Just about all anyone was talking about during the Kansas City Royals‘ spring training was Bobby Witt Jr. and what the team should do with him to start the season. Some desperately wanted him to start the season on the Royals’ roster and others were terrified about rushing him to the big leagues.

The Royals made the logical choice by sending their future star to the minor leagues to start the year. This wasn’t the easiest choice for the team, however, as Witt was showing off star qualities in spring training. He was batting .289 with three home runs and seven RBI through 38 at-bats and was making quality defensive plays as well.

Many fans feel that the Royals would be a better team with Witt on board, but the front office made the decision to let him start the regular season in the minors and perfect his craft at the plate. This decision couldn’t have been easy for the Royals, as fans are clamoring to see Witt in the big leagues, and having him on the Opening Day roster would have been really exciting.

Bobby Witt Jr. won’t be in the KC Royals’ minor league system for long.

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As Max Rieper of Royals Review noted, if the Royals bring Witt up sometime in mid-April, they can push Witt’s free agency back a year and if they wait until May, they’ll avoid Super-two arbitration status, so there definitely are some benefits to holding Witt in the minors for a few weeks or even a month.

In the meantime, the Royals will roll with Nicky Lopez and Hanser Alberto at second base until Witt is ready to come up. Maybe this will be motivation for Lopez, who — despite being Gold Glove-caliber defensively — has not performed well offensively. Lopez knows his starting job is on the line if he continues to struggle at the plate, so if he’s able to overcome those struggles, maybe that’ll be enough to delay Witt’s promotion (though he’d still likely be brought up and maybe placed elsewhere).

I know Royals fans are disappointed that Witt won’t be on the Opening Day roster, but this is the right decision. Rushing a top prospect to the majors is never a good idea and while Witt showed his star potential in spring training, bringing him up too soon could crush his confidence.

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Hopefully, we’ll see Witt in the coming months and the Kansas City Royals will become must-see TV.

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