KC Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., Seth Lugo named finalists for AL MVP and Cy Young awards

Kansas City Royals duo Bobby Witt Jr. and Seth Lugo have already received some impressive recognition for their 2024 season.

Both were named American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipients at their respective positions earlier this month. Now, they are one step closer to adding more hardware to their collection.

On Monday, Witt was named a finalist for the 2024 AL MVP Award. He was nominated alongside New York Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Lugo is an AL Cy Young Award finalist for the first time in his career.

Each award is presented by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The AL Cy Young winner will be announced on Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. Central on MLB Network. The AL MVP recipient will be recognized on Nov. 21.

Witt, 24, produced a career season. He led the majors with a .332 batting average and became the first shortstop to have consecutive 30-30 seasons. Witt registered 211 hits, 32 home runs and 109 RBIs in 161 games.

The Royals relied on Witt’s offensive production. He was one of two players to have 100 or more RBIs during the season.

In July, Witt was named AL Player of the Month after starring in his first MLB All-Star Game and the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. He hit .489 with 44 hits during the month, joining only Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig (1930) to accomplish those marks.

Witt is looking to become the second Royal to win the AL MVP Award. Royals Hall of Famer George Brett is the lone AL MVP in franchise history.

The Royals inked Witt to a historic 14-year deal (11 years guaranteed) in February. Since his MLB debut in 2022, Witt has racked up several accolades. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in MVP voting last season.

Lugo, 34, is a Cy Young finalist for the first time in his career. He signed a two-year contract with a player option ahead of the 2024 campaign and quickly emerged as a front-line starter with the organization.

In 33 starts, Lugo posted a 16-9 record with a 3.00 ERA. He pitched a career-high 206 ⅔ innings and ranked top-10 among qualified AL starters in wins, quality starts, ERA and WHIP.

Lugo also pitched the deciding game in the AL Wild Card Series against the Baltimore Orioles. He allowed three earned runs and produced eight strikeouts in 9 ⅓ postseason innings.

The Royals have won four previous AL Cy Young Awards in franchise history. Royals Hall of Famer Bret Saberhagen won the award twice in his career. David Cone (1994) and Zack Greinke (2009) both took home the hardware.

Lugo joins AL Central pitchers Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) and Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) as the three finalists for the coveted Cy Young Award.