Royals Star Named Finalist for Award Voted On by His Peers

The players who had to face shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. all summer still think he was one of the best in the American League, even in a rough year for the Kansas City Royals.

The MLB Players Association announced its finalists for the 2026 Players Choice Awards on Wednesday, and Witt is one of three players up for the AL Outstanding Player Award.

His competition is designated hitter Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros and third baseman Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, with the winners set to be announced the week of Oct. 26.

The players vote on these awards themselves, and the union said the voting took place in September with help from the accounting firm KPMG.

This nod is a little different from the other honors Witt has picked up this fall because it comes from the guys who faced him every night instead of from writers or coaches.

Witt was already named a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, and on Wednesday he was also named a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop after winning the AL award at that spot in each of the last two years.

Over 143 games, he hit .281 with a .359 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 45 stolen bases and 94 runs scored.

He made the All-Star team, and Baseball-Reference credits him with 6.7 WAR despite a stint on the injured list with low back tightness in late July.

All of that came on a Kansas City team that finished 69-93 and last in the AL Central.

When Witt spoke with FanSided late in the season, he did not hide how let down he was, and he took some of the blame himself.

"It's one of those things where you learn a lot about who you are individually and how you can become better. I feel like that's something to take away from this year," Witt said.

He also said the team got away from playing good baseball and has to get back to doing the little things.

Witt admitted the club needs more pieces as well, and the record backs him up.

I like hearing that from the face of the franchise, because Witt could have pointed at the injuries or the bullpen and instead talked about getting better himself.

I am not sure he beats out Álvarez or Caminero, but getting picked by his peers while playing for a 93-loss team shows how much respect Witt has earned around the league.

Catcher Carter Jensen did not get the same treatment, even after hitting 27 home runs with 81 RBIs and being picked as the top rookie catcher by MLB Pipeline, since he was left out of the three-man AL rookie group.

That shows how hard it is to get noticed on a losing team.

Kansas City has a young core to build around with Witt and Jensen at the front of it.

My guess is that Witt has a better shot at a third straight Gold Glove than at this award, but making this list at all after a 69-93 year is a credit to how he played.