Bobby Witt Jr. predicted to snap 46-year drought despite Royals' awful record

There's no denying that the 2026 season for the Kansas City Royals, entering June, has been a complete and total disaster.

Kansas City is sporting the second-worst record in the AL Central, only a 0.5 game up on the floundering Detroit Tigers. At 23-37, the Royals are very much at risk of finishing as one of the worst teams in MLB. But, for the Royals, Bobby Witt Jr. has been great.

The Athletic's Johnny Flores shared a bold, but realistic prediction for Witt that would snap a 46-year drought with an end-of-season MVP award for Witt in a year he finally has a good chance to earn the honor, despite the Royals' awful season thus far.

Bobby Witt Jr. predicted to win AL MVP despite awful Royals season

"Top awards candidate: Bobby Witt Jr., AL MVP. Royals fans, I think this is the year," Flores writes. "... It's been 36 years since the Royals have had an AL MVP. If he keeps it up, that won't be the only accolade he'll have for his age-26 season. 2026 All-Star, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, Platinum Glove, and AL MVP winner Bobby Witt J>r has a really nice ring to it."

This season, Witt has been one of the best all-around players in Major League Baseball. Winning AL MVP despite how bad the Royals have been this season is not that unrealistic.

Across 60 games this season, Witt has 3.4 bWAR, second only to Cody Bellinger this season among AL players. He has 68 hits (most in AL), 30 runs scored, 16 doubles, one triple, nine homers, 26 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, 24 walks, a .287 batting average, and an .832 OPS.

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One of the reasons why Witt has as good a chance as ever to win the AL MVP is that there's no Shohei Ohtani to compete against, and Aaron Judge, besides his struggles lately, is also now hurt.

Witt's offensive production is good enough to warrant MVP consideration, though he ideally would need to improve a bit more to truly be the top candidate for this award.

But his league-leading defense, with 16 Outs Above Average, four more than Pete Crow-Armstrong for best among all players in MLB this season, is a big reason why Witt has a legitimate chance to win the AL MVP this year.

Witt is a serious MVP candidate for the 2026 season, and even though he might not be the best hitter in baseball, his base running and defense, combined with a 134 OPS+, make Witt a legitimate MVP candidate.

With the context of the rest of the AL MVP field, this prediction from Flores doesn't seem that far-fetched for Witt amid a terrible Royals season. 

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