KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Bobby Witt Jr. has been voted to the All-MLB First Team at shortstop, announced Thursday night as part of the 2025 MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
It’s yet another accolade for the 25-year-old shortstop who has cemented himself over the past few seasons as one of the best players in baseball.
The All-MLB Team was introduced in 2019 to recognize the best player or players at each position across the Major Leagues with First Team and Second Team selections. Fan voting accounted for half of the selection process, with the other 50 percent coming from a decorated panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other officials throughout the game.
When casting their ballots, voters were asked to consider only performance during the regular season. Each All-MLB team includes one selection apiece at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and designated hitter, three outfielders (regardless of specific outfield position), five starting pitchers and two relievers.
This is Witt’s second consecutive year being named to the First Team following his history-making 2024 season.
An All-Star, Gold Glove Award winner, Platinum Glove winner and Silver Slugger Award winner in 2025, Witt slashed .295/.351/.501 with 23 home runs, 88 RBIs, 38 stolen bases and a Majors-leading 47 doubles. He was MLB’s hits leader for the second consecutive season with 184. Witt was not named an American League MVP finalist (top three in voting), but he’ll be on plenty of ballots when they’re revealed next week as his 8.0 WAR, per FanGraphs, ranked third best among all Major League position players behind Aaron Judge (10.1) and Cal Raleigh (9.1).
Witt also remains one of the top defenders in the league; his 24 outs above average were tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong for best in MLB. Witt’s 18 runs prevented were third-most at any position, behind Crow-Armstrong (22) and Ceddanne Rafaela (19).
Witt’s numbers this year didn’t match his otherworldly ‘24 campaign, which can bring the illusion of disappointment when reviewing his season, especially when the Royals didn’t make the playoffs following their run in ‘24. But make no mistake: Witt is a generational talent committed to Kansas City, and he and the Royals are committed to getting this club back to October. That’s why the front office will spend this offseason trying to improve the club, knowing they don’t have to go get a superstar because they have one in Witt. They just need pieces to help this team get over the hump. They know Witt is a player deserving of the game’s biggest stage; he’s already at the top of the league with fellow All-MLB First Team members like Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani and more.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, third baseman Maikel Garcia and closer Carlos Estévez were the Royals’ other All-MLB nominees.
