Will 2 KC Royals stars win their Silver Slugger battles?

For Bobby Witt Jr., it's a sterling example of bad timing

These are the shortstop finalists:

J.P. Crawford (Seattle): .266/.380/.438, 19 homeruns, 65 RBIs, .818 OPS, 131 OPS+
Corey Seager (Texas): .327/.390/.623, 33 home runs, 96 RBIs, 1.013 OPS, 170 OPS+
Bobby Witt Jr. (KC): .276/.319/.495, 30 home runs, 96 RBIs, .813 OPS, 120 OPS+

Like his Seattle teammate Raleigh, Crawford had a fine season, but he's not going to win the award, so let's get straight to Witt and Seager.

Witt got off to a slow start, and at least some Royals fans spent the first two months of the season wondering why none of the club's top prospects ever seem to hit the ground running. At the end of June, he was slashing .244/.287/.415.

And then something clicked.

He hit over .300 over the last three months of the season, learned how to draw walks, and posted the first 30-30 season in Royals history. In short, Witt took his first big step toward becoming the superstar most expect him to be. In almost any other year, he'd have a strong chance of taking home his first Silver Slugger.

But let's be honest. He doesn't stand a chance. Seager played too well this season. Despite missing roughly four weeks with a hamstring injury suffered against KC in April, he has a legitimate case for AL MVP. He already won his second World Series MVP a few days ago, and he'll need to make even more space in his trophy case soon.

None of that takes away from what Witt accomplished this season. His own trophy case will overflow soon enough, but the timing isn't quite right for 2023.

The Silver Slugger Award winners will be announced November 9.

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