Insider Compares Royals Phenom To Dodgers Superstar As MVP Race Tightens

Kansas City certainly should be happy about the young shortstop

Apr 28, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A hat and glove of an Los Angeles Dodgers player durng a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Will the Kansas City Royals get a little love when award season kicks off across Major League Baseball?

Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has taken the baseball world by storm this year. He is having one of the best offensive seasons by a shortstop in recent memory and currently is slashing .339/.393/.611 with 30 home runs, 97 RBIs, 40 doubles, 11 triples, and 28 stolen bases.

Witt currently is leading the league with his .339 batting average, 117 runs scored, 190 hits, and 141 games played. He has been everything the Royals could've hoped for this year and is competing with New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the American League Most Valuable Player award.

Although Witt is having a phenomenal season, right now it's looking like Judge will end up winning the award as he's having a historic year. The New York Post's Jon Heyman even compared Witt to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts because he missed out on the National League MVP award last year because of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.'s historic season.

"Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr. are superb all-around shortstops having MVP-type seasons," Heyman said. "But though they are even better-rounded players than the current MVP favorites, here’s why they have an uphill battle to wrest the award from all-time greats Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge: Though voters like all-around skill and certainly weigh WAR figures — Lindor and Ohtani each lead one of the two WARs, and Witt is close to Judge in WAR — voters have great difficulty ignoring historic achievements, and Ohtani and Judge are moving toward history.

"Take last year, when super versatile star Mookie Betts received exactly zero votes to 30 for unanimous winner Ronald Acuna Jr., who made history by becoming the first 40-70 (40 homers, 70 steals) player ever."

Witt has been amazing but it seems like the MVP award will end up going to Judge this year.

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