Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. needs to reach these three goals to beat Aaron Judge for AL MVP

The Kansas City Royals, entering the 2026 MLB season, are facing a tough Detroit Tigers team for a chance to win the AL Central.

Fortunately, their rotation looks to be in good shape, and with Bobby Witt Jr. in the middle of his prime, there's plenty of reason to believe Witt could lead the Royals to a postseason berth.

But, for Witt personally, winning the AL MVP over New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge would be huge. As Eric Karabell of ESPN writes, there are three goals Witt would need to reach to have a chance at beating Judge for the award in 2026.

Bobby Witt has 3 goals to reach to beat Aaron Judge in MVP race

"Judge is awesome, of course, and hardly slowing down, but Witt - if he can win another batting title (like 2024), go 30/30 and lead the seemingly improved Royals to winning the certainly winnable AL Central - can end Judge's MVP streak," Karabell writes.

Witt is a great player and has been a top-five MVP candidate the last two years, finishing as the runner-up to Judge in 2024 with an incredible 9.6 bWAR season with 211 hits, 32 home runs, 45 doubles, 109 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and an MLB-best .332 average.

Karabell believes that if Witt can finish 2026 with the best batting average in baseball again, record 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, and have the Royals win the AL Central, then his odds to win MVP over Judge will be decent.

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But, even in 2024, Witt accomplished two of those three goals and still came up short against Judge. Comparing OPS shows that Witt (.977) was a ways off from Judge (1.159). While Witt was incredible, he still didn't compare to Judge's production at the plate.

There's not another player in the American League who has a better chance to surpass Judge for the AL MVP title. His speed, power, and contact skills are among the best in baseball.

If he can put it all together and lead the Royals to a division title, he could steal the MVP award from Judge in 2026. It won't be easy, but the outline provided by Karabell is a good one to follow for Witt to have a baseline chance to win the award this year.

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