The Royals’ 2026 season may have been messy, but the individual recognition keeps piling up.
On November 9, Kansas City announced its annual team awards, with members of the Kansas City Baseball Writers Association of America casting the votes. Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Wacha and Salvador Perez took home the club’s top honors, giving the Royals three familiar names at the center of the conversation even in a year that didn’t go the way the team wanted.
Witt Jr. claimed the 2026 Les Milgram Player of the Year Award, and at this point, that’s become routine. It’s the fifth straight season he’s won it since arriving in 2022, a run that says plenty about how steady his production has been. Even in what was framed as a down year for the Royals star, he still posted 7.0 fWAR in 2026, a reminder that his baseline is still elite.
For Kansas City, that kind of consistency keeps pushing Witt Jr. toward a bigger place in franchise history. The award only adds to a resume that already looks like it belongs at the top of the organization’s all-time list.
Wacha’s honor came with a different kind of significance. He won the 2026 Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year Award after what may have been the best season of his 14-year MLB career.
The 35-year-old turned in a 3.32 ERA and a 1.106 WHIP over a career-high 200.2 innings, and all three numbers led Royals starters this season. Even with trade-deadline rumors swirling, Kansas City kept him in place, banking on more of the same in 2027.
That decision made sense based on what Wacha delivered. Since joining the Royals in 2024, he has piled up 9.6 fWAR, which stands as the strongest three-year stretch of his career. He also logged 21 quality starts in 2026, the third-most in baseball and more than likely AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler.
Perez’s award was different from the other two. The 2026 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award wasn’t about his 2026 production so much as the body of work he has built in Kansas City. The BBWAA writers honored his career, and the milestone that stood out most came on July 25 against the Detroit Tigers, when he hit his 318th career home run to break the Royals’ all-time home run record.
His bat has slowed, and 2026 looked like another step in that direction, but Perez still managed 21 home runs, third-most on the Royals. At 36, he’s no longer the lineup’s centerpiece, yet he remains a legitimate threat at the plate. With what looks like his final season coming next year, Perez will try to finish with one more postseason run alongside a young core around him.
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