KC Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. earns experts' early nod for top award

Despite the spectacular season he enjoyed last year, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. didn't win the American League Most Valuable Player award. Instead, the Baseball Writers Association of America gave that honor to New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, sparking a Witt vs. Judge debate that continues to this day.

Witt is, of course, almost certainly a lock for a MVP trophy — and probably more than one — before his history-making KC contract expires, and if one major media outlet is right, that coveted hardware will be Witt's sooner rather than later.

MLB.com projected on March 23 that the BBWAA's 2025 AL award will go to Witt when the season ends. Reporting the polling of almost 60 experts, MLB.com writer Jason Foster noted that Witt was chosen over such stars as Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alex Bregman, Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Riley Green, José Ramírez, and Julio Rodríguez.

If anyone can beat out those standouts, it's Witt, but he'll need a season just as good as last year's — or better — to do it.

Winning the MVP will require another great season from KC Royals star Bobby Witt Jr.

Even the most casual Kansas City and major league fans know the kind of 2024 numbers Witt put up while leading the Royals to their first postseason appearance since 2015. His .332 batting average and 211 hits led the big leagues. He homered a club-leading 32 times, his 109 RBI were more than any other Royal, and he paced the club in triples with 11 and doubles with 45. His 31 stolen bases were second only to Maikel Garcia's 37 among Royals, but gave him at least 30 for the third straight season.

Witt posted his second straight 30-30 season and his stellar .332/.389/.588 line speaks for itself. He also won his first Gold Glove.

Will numbers of that kind be good enough for an MVP win this season? That, of course, remains to be seen, but it's a good bet Witt will have to at least equal them to snare the award. Such a performance is a tall order even for Witt, who may very well be due for a less-stellar season.

Don't count on the rest of the 2025 MVP contenders to falter much, if at all.