Royals Phenom Reportedly 'Not Going To Win' Prestigious Award Despite Unreal Season

The Kansas City slugger is likely going to be snubbed

Aug 16, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third on a throwing error in the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals might be the season's biggest surprise after going from last place in the American League Central in 2023 to being an exciting team to watch this season.

With one of the best rotations in the game -- despite being short-handed -- and an offense that has come out of nowhere to rank No. 8 in the league with 670 runs scored, the Royals have put themselves in a great position to contend this fall.

Not only are the Royals in an excellent spot to make the playoffs but they've also had one of their homegrown talents rise to stardom after recording one of the greatest single-season performances by a player of all time -- even if he might not receive recognition for it.

"Bobby Witt Jr. is probably not going to win this year's American League MVP Award," MLB.com's Mike Petriello wrote Thursday. "Let’s get that out of the way right up front."

Witt Jr. is batting .339 with 81 extra-base hits including 30 home runs, 97 RBIs and an impressive 1.004 OPS in all of the Royals' 141 games played this season.

"That’s because no matter how great his season is – and it is great, already the best season in the entire history of the Royals, by at least one measure – there’s no combination of all-around excellence that’s going to overcome Aaron Judge challenging 60 homers and putting up a top-10 all-time batting year with the voters, assuming Judge does reach those marks. Even though Witt is a far superior defender to Judge (he’s currently the most valuable defensive shortstop in the game) and much more valuable on the bases (he’s going to post the second 30/30 season in Royals history any day now) there’s not a whole lot a player can do in the face of 60 home runs." Petriello continued.

Judge has been in a slump at the plate lately, so there's still a chance Witt's all-around achievements will triumph over the New York Yankees slugger's impressive home run total for 2024 to win AL MVP. Even if the 24-year-old doesn't win the award this season, he should have plenty more opportunities to do so if he can continue down the path he's on.

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