KC Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. 's MVP case is getting stronger

Slugging percentage lead is within Bobby Witt Jr.'s reach

Through July 24, Witt’s .593 average ranked third among AL batters, trailing Judge (.699) and Soto (.599).

Judge's 106-point lead seems insurmountable. However, Witt is closing fast. Since July 1, he has slugged at a .726 rate, while Judge has fallen back to .475. That has nearly halved the 204 point gap that existed as recently as June 30, when Judge was slugging .738 and Witt was at .534.

If Judge and Witt maintain their current slugging rates from the past three weeks, instead of their season-long averages, Witt is projected to surpass Judge for the slugging lead by late August, with only four or five weeks left to pull away.

Bobby Witt Jr.'s red-hot month at the plate fuels OPS rise

In terms of OPS performance, the situation remains consistent. Currently, Judge maintains a substantial 71 point lead over his teammate Soto (1.106 to 1.035), while Witt holds the third position at .983.

However, let's examine the changes in those numbers since July 1. During that time, Judge has achieved a .920, a performance that is entirely respectable but falls short of his previous pace. Soto has picked up his slugging pace, averaging 1.155 over the same period.

However, Witt has excelled with a 1.423 OPS since July 1. This indicates that Judge's OPS has decreased by 38 points, Soto's has increased by 30, and Witt's has surged by nearly 100 points. Once more, if Witt maintains his pace of gaining 140 points per month on Judge, he is projected to surpass the current leader by the end of August, also outperforming Soto by then.