With all due respect to the Texas football heritage and the state’s latest and greatest gunslinging quarterback prodigy, Patrick Mahomes, this week at Busch Stadium served as a reminder that the baseball diamonds down there in the Lone Star State also produce more than their share of athletic wunderkinds.
Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and Cardinals rising star Masyn Winn, two ubertalented young shortstops from Texas, took turns patrolling the infield at Busch Stadium during this week’s I-70 series.
Witt, 24, and Winn, 23, provide as big an endorsement as imaginable for Major League Baseball teams leaning into youth and athleticism and making allowances for on-the-job learning at the big league level.
That’s true even if you only look at their respective defensive impacts.
“It gives the team a difference level of success when you have good defense, when you’re not giving away runs, (not having) missed plays, taking away hits,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn hits a ground ball during the first game of a doubleheader against the Royals on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
“It helps in a lot of different ways because you lower pitch counts — that guy can go a little bit further, and it doesn’t tax your bullpen — it’s this compound effect that you probably don’t into account on a daily basis, but it’s real.â€
Winn, selected in the second round of the 2020 MLB draft out of Kingwood High School in Kingwood, Texas, played in 148 games (143 starts) as a rookie last year in his first full season in the majors. He led all MLB shortstops in defensive runs saved (14).
Winn also earned the Field Bible Award as the best defensive shortstop in the majors as recognized by Sports Info Solutions. Winn was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove Award in 2024 but did not win.
Meanwhile Witt, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft out of Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas, is the son of 16-year big league pitcher Bob Witt (17 games with the Cardinals in 1998). Witt has led all major league shortstops in outs above average (39) as well as runs prevented (29) since the start of the 2023 season.
Witt won his first American League Gold Glove Award in 2024, finished second in the AL MVP voting, won a batting title and became the first shortstop in MLB history with multiple 30-home run, 30-stolen base seasons.
Even though they were a year apart as far as their draft classes, Witt and Winn crossed paths in Texas thanks to the summer showcase circuit and Area Code Baseball.
“I always remember he could hit, he could play shortstop, had a cannon, but when he was on the mound, he was just so much above,†Witt said of Winn. “He was throwing 98, 99 as a junior or sophomore in high school. It was one of those things where it’s like he’s kind of a smaller dude, but he’s throwing this hard. He’s just a true athlete.
“You didn’t really know, could be a big league pitcher? Maybe. It was one of those things where he had options, I feel like, because of how good he was pitching, how good he was a position guy and how good of a hitter he was.â€
On his climb to the majors, Winn’s defense seemed likely to carry him even if his bat lagged behind.
Despite early struggles at the plate when he got his feet wet in the majors in 2023 (he batted .172 with a .230 on-base percentage in his first 37 games), Winn turned himself into a top-of-the-order presence last year.
After an early funk at the plate this year, Winn worked his way back up to the No. 2 spot in the Cardinals lineup and posted a slash line of .281/.356/.438 with six home runs through his first 49 games of this season.
Witt broke into the big leagues playing third base at the start of his rookie season (2022) before he took over at shortstop midseason due to a season-ending injury to Adalberto Mondesi.
That year, Witt ranked near the bottom of all MLB shortstops (35th out of 37) in outs above average and runs prevented. There were even some questions within the organization about whether current Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia might’ve been the best option, defensively, at shortstop.
“A lot of it was Bobby understanding what his strengths and weaknesses were,†Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Witt’s improvement. “He’s always been elite going to his backhand. He needed work going to his left. He and (infield coach) Jose (Alguacil) addressed that. They did a ton of work on it.
“He’s playing in positions where he’s more comfortable now, as far as how he shades hitters. He’s reading swings better. His anticipation has been better. More so Josie working with him on how he breaks to his left and his glove presentation. All those things have factored in.â€
Witt credited Vance Wilson, the third base coach and infield coach Witt’s rookie season, for helping him adjust and prepare to play defense in the majors. When Wilson became the major league field coordinator and Alguacil took the role as infield coach, Witt’s focus turned to specific improvements and gearing it toward success at shortstop.
“It’s just now understanding what you need to be able to do to make the routine plays routine, make sure you’re in the right spot, right position, and doing the work you need to do that you need to get better at rather than just kind of going through the motions, taking ground balls.
“What do we need to do? Do I need to get my first step better? Little things to try to get better and try to get that edge to try to make more plays, save pitchers and get more outs.â€
Winn and Witt taking their play to new levels after they reached the big leagues is a testament to their own desire to be great and their work ethic.
It’s also the reason teams are banking on getting long-term value out of throwing young talented players into the deep end of the water and forcing them to swim, even if it’s early.
Now, both the Cardinals and Royals are in position to reap the benefits for a decade or more.
