Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha Named to American League All-Star Team

 On Saturday, Major League Baseball named the All-Star rosters for the 2026 All-Star Game in Philadelphia. The Kansas City Royals were fortunate to have two players make the American League roster.

Bobby Witt Jr. not only made his third consecutive All-Star team, but he was named the AL starting shortstop, the first time he's been named a starter in the Midsummer Classic. 

Witt leads all American League players in fWAR with a 4.6 mark. Only the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong is ahead of Witt in the Majors with a 5.2 mark. The Kansas City shortstop is also hitting .289 with an .830 OPS. That includes 12 home runs, 36 RBI, 44 runs scored, and 29 stolen bases. He also has a .358 wOBA, .395 xwOBACON, and 130 TJ Bat+, which rank in the upper percentiles of the league, according to his TJ Stats Statcast summary. 

The other Royals player to make the All-Star team was pitcher Michael Wacha. Wacha has been the Royals' best starting pitcher this year, much-needed considering the injuries to Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic. 

As of Saturday, Wacha has a 3.46 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.88 FIP, and 12.3% K-BB% in 112 IP. Even though he's not a strikeout machine (19.1% K%) and his stuff isn't eye-popping (96 overall TJ Stuff+), he's been efficient on the mound for the Royals. He's produced 12 quality starts, which leads all AL starting pitchers and is second in baseball to Philadelphia's Cristopher Sanchez, a favorite for the NL Cy Young award.

Though Wacha has been prone to giving up home runs (he gave up two on Saturday to the Phillies), he has been solid this season when it comes to limiting hard contact and generating strikes. 

Wacha ranks in the 75th percentile in Zone%, 90th percentile in Barrel%, and 87th percentile in Hard-Hit% and Average EV allowed. The 35-year-old is producing these metrics despite having only two pitches in his arsenal with TJ Stuff+ marks of 100 or higher. 

This is the second All-Star appearance for Wacha, who last made the All-Star team in 2015 when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. That season, he posted a 3.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 3.87 FIP in 181.1 IP with the Cardinals.