Bobby Witt Jr.'s Bat Is Down, and He's Still The AL MVP Frontrunner. What The Heck Is Going On?

Alright, Seattle, buckle up! We're only in May, but the MLB awards race is already wild, and some names are popping up that might just make you blink. Forget what you thought you knew about the AL MVP race, because a dude whose bat isn't even at full power is currently blowing past names like Aaron Judge. And over in the NL? Shohei Ohtani is straight-up going for TWO of the biggest awards, and it looks like he might actually pull it off!

The AL MVP Race Is Already Bonkers: Meet Your Frontrunner

Seriously, folks, how wild is this? Bobby Witt Jr. from the Kansas City Royals is sitting pretty as the AL MVP frontrunner right now. You'd think that'd mean he's crushing homers every other at-bat, right? Nope. The dude's actually had a pretty "pedestrian" start at the plate. His batting average and on-base percentage are in line with past seasons, but his isolated power? It's down! So, what gives? This kid is just ridiculously good at *everything else*.

He's been the most valuable defender in the entire major leagues, according to FanGraphs' DEF metric, and he's seventh in their bottom-line baserunning metric. Plus, he's a shortstop, which adds serious positional value. When you add it all up, out of the 31.9 runs above replacement he's put up, resulting in a 3.3 fWAR, only 8.2 of those runs come from his bat. That fWAR figure is more than half a win better than *anyone else* in the AL right now. And guess what? His offensive numbers are almost certainly going to spike from here. If this kid finds his power, the rest of the league is in serious trouble.

And while we're talking AL, keep an eye on Nick Kurtz. This dude's AXE score has jumped from 117.3 at the end of April to 135.0, shooting him up to sixth overall from 51st. He's an on-base machine, with a .448 OBP this season, leading the AL! He's hitting .290 in the big leagues, which is elite in today's game. His swing is producing a lot more line drives than fly balls right now, so the homers aren't there yet, but his exit velocities are up. This guy's profile is screaming top-of-the-order threat.

Shohei Ohtani Is Making Us All Look Silly

Remember back when we learned about Shohei Ohtani's 2026 goal of winning the National League Cy Young Award? We all probably blinked a couple times, right? Like, yeah, the dude's got the arm, averaging a 13-7 record, 3.00 ERA, 143 ERA+, 228 strikeouts, and 5.5 bWAR per 162 games coming into this year. The talent was never in doubt. But the *volume*? That's where the question marks started.

The Dodgers like to slow-play their starting pitchers, and Ohtani is also one of the greatest hitters in the game, an MVP-caliber designated hitter! Could he really do both? Well, fast forward to right now, and Ohtani has been more like a full-time rotation ace, and his results are somehow *better than ever*. It's actually his hitting volume that's been dialed down a bit, not his pitching. So yeah, that Cy Young objective? It's absolutely on the table. And here's the kicker: if he actually pulls off his first Cy Young, there's a *very good chance* he'll also snag his *fourth straight* MVP Award. What a legend. The NL Cy Young race is looking fierce, but Ohtani is making a serious run at history.

Man, what a league we're watching right now. Meanwhile, our Mariners are out there doing their thing, like that solid 9-2 W against the A's the other day. That's the kind of game we need to see consistently. Keep that energy up, bring the Emerald City roar, and let's see how our boys stack up against the best as the season rolls on. Go M's!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.