KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced today that infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for May. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Witt Jr. slashed .283/.331/.522 (32-for-113) with 6 doubles, 7 homers, 8 walks and 11 RBI in 28 games last month. He ranked among the American League leaders last month in fWAR (1.7, 1st), total bases (59, T-3rd), hits (T-5th), extra-base hits (13, T-6th), stolen bases (7, T-6th) and home runs (T-8th). Witt Jr. got off to a quick start in May, as he was named the American League Player of the Week for the period of May 4-10 after slashing .407/.448/.815 (11-for-27) with 2 doubles, 3 homers and 4 RBI during a 4-3 homestand vs. the Guardians (2-2) and Tigers (2-1). He hit his 2nd career inside-the-park home run on May 9 vs. Detroit, sporting a home-to-home time of 14.13 seconds, which was the 4th fastest in the Statcast Era (since 2015), trailing only Byron Buxton on Aug. 18, 2017 (13.85 sec.), Buxton on Oct. 2, 2016 (14.05) and Pete Crow-Armstrong on Aug. 23, 2024 (14.08). Witt Jr. hit safely in 23 of his 28 games last month, the most such efforts by an American League player and tied with Alex Bregman and Xavier Edwards for the 2nd most in the Majors, behind Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer (24). It marked the first time that a Royals player hit safely in at least 23 games in the month of May since Jon Jay recorded a hit in 26 of his 28 games in May 2018. This unanimous selection marks Witt Jr.’s 10th career monthly honor, which are the 4th most by a Royals position player since the award was established in 1995, trailing Alex Gordon (13), Mike Sweeney (13) and Eric Hosmer (11).