Is this the year for Bobby Witt Jr. to win MVP?

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 08: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals bats during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium on May 08, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images About seven or eight years ago, there was an established adage/joke among baseball fans, and it went something like this: the MLB season doesn’t officially start until Mike Trout leads the league in Wins Above Replacement .

At the time, Trout was the undisputed best player in the league, and eventually other players’ hot starts would fade—leaving Trout standing alone at the top of the leaderboard. It’s 2026 now, so maybe it’s time to give it a good ol’ update. Let’s say, oh, something along the lines of: the MLB season doesn’t officially start until Bobby Witt Jr.

leads the league in Wins Above Replacement . In any case, the season has officially started, because if you go look at the Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference version of WAR, you’ll find that Witt has indeed accrued more WAR than any other American League player. Over on Bluesky, Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep posted Witt’s season batting percentiles and wondered if this could be the year that Witt wins the MVP.

Yes, it’s just May, but again, Witt is already leading the league in WAR. Is it his to lose? Is it finally his time?