Bobby

Witt Jr.

It’s the same back issue that forced Witt to miss Sunday’s game against San Diego. He exited in the fourth inning after going 0-for-1 with a walk and was replaced at shortstop by Nick Loftin. The Royals should provide another update on his status after the game. Back injuries have a tendency to linger, making this a situation fantasy managers will want to monitor closely throughout the rest of the week.

Witt is back at shortstop and hitting second after being held out of Sunday’s series finale against the Padres for precautionary reasons due to back tightness. The 26-year-old franchise cornerstone doesn’t appear to be at risk of missing additional time, but back issues can be tricky matters. Fantasy managers should closely monitor his status for the next couple days.

The 26-year-old superstar really didn’t get much of a break while playing in the All-Star Game, so he’ll get a breather on Sunday. Tyler Tolbert will start in his place at shortstop and will hit eighth for the Royals against Padres’ right-hander German Marquez.

It was Witt’s 13th home run and 39th RBI of the season. The 26-year-old is slashing a solid .288/.359/.464 on the season, but the struggles of the lineup around him have really dampened his counting stat upside. There’s nothing you can do in fantasy leagues other than put him into your lineup.

Witt smacked a two-run homer off Griffin Jax in the third, and clobbered a solo homer in the eighth inning that went an estimated 432 feet in the eighth. He has now homered a dozen times in 2026, and three of those came in a solid — if unspectacular based on Witt’s abilities — month of June. He’s as good as it gets at the shortstop position, and fantasy managers should expect similar to better production from the 26-year-old in the second half of the campaign.

It’s an extremely positive sign that Witt is back in Kansas City’s lineup for the second straight contest, especially with a short turnaround. He went 0-for-3 with a walk during Friday evening’s series opener following a six-game absence recovering from a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee. It doesn’t appear that there is any concern regarding his availability moving forward.

Witt made it back to Kansas City’s lineup for the first time in over one week following a six-game absence due to a low-grade MCL sprain in his right knee. The encouraging development for fantasy managers is that Witt is back on the field and managed to avoid a trip to the injured list. The 26-year-old fantasy superstar has put together a phenomenal season, slashing .291/.367/.460 with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, 32 RBI and an American League-leading 28 stolen bases through 77 games this season.

This is now the sixth straight game that Witt Jr. is not in the lineup. He has been available off the bench for the last two games, but has not entered into either one of them. The Royals also had two players pinch hit in the eighth and ninth innings in Wednesday’s loss to the Rays, but neither of them was Witt Jr. Tyler Tolbert will continue to play shortstop and bat ninth as the Royals maintain a holding pattern with their star shortstop.

Witt, who is out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive game with an MCL sprain, added that his knee is feeling better each day and he was able to field grounders and take batting practice for the second straight day at Tropicana Field. A trip to the injured list can’t be ruled out at this juncture, but it sounds like there’s a chance the Royals are willing to just ride this out until Witt is ready to return in a couple days. It’s something the club did earlier this year when Maikel Garcia was battling a hamstring strain.

Witt Jr. has been out of the lineup for five straight games now. He was reportedly available off the bench on Tuesday but did not enter the game. On Wednesday, Tyler Tolbert will start at shortstop again and bat ninth. We know that Witt Jr. has been working out and getting accustomed to wearing a knee brace, but it’s fair to wonder if it might just make more sense to have put him on the injured list and let him heal.