2 Royals that seem surefire Silver Slugger finalists, 1 that could be a dark horse

The Kansas City Royals certainly didn’t have the greatest of seasons at the plate, finishing near the bottom across the board as a team in nearly all major offensive categories. They ranked 26th in runs scored, RBI and HR while also sitting 22nd in wRC+ and T-19th in OPS.

That being said, even if they underperformed as a team that doesn’t mean they were devoid of exceptional individual offensive performers.

In fact there are three names in particular that could find themselves among the American League’s finalists for Silver Slugger Awards at their respective positions after MLB managers and coaches cast their votes. Two of them are obvious and one could sneak his way in as dark horse contender.

Official finalists for the AL Silver Slugger Awards will be announced exclusively on FanSided the morning of Oct. 23. Also exclusively on FanSided will be the announcement of the winners which will air live on The Baseball Insider’s YouTube channel on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. EST.

So, without further ado, here are three names Royals fans might just see in the running for a Silver Slugger Award this season.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia seem all but shoo-ins to be named Silver Slugger Award finalists

No two position players were as consistent for the Royals this season as Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia were, anchoring them both offensively as well as defensively.

But we’re here to talk about offense and both had sterling campaigns at the dish that were near or at the very top of their respective positions.

Bobby Witt Jr. followed up his near-MVP campaign in 2024 with an impressive 2025 season. He slashed .295/.351/.501 with 23 HR, 88 RBI, 38 stolen bases, a sub-20% strikeout rate and a 130 wRC+.

To put things into context, he was the MLB hit king this season and among primary AL third baseman with at least 400 plate appearances, he led the charge in SLG, runs scored and stolen bases, was second in OPS, third in homers and RBI, fourth in AVG and wRC+ and sixth in OBP.

Then there’s Garcia who in his maiden All-Star campaign this year, slashed .286/.351/.449 with 16 HR, 74 RBI, 23 stolen bases, a near-10% walk rate, a sub-13% strikeout rate and a 121 wRC+.

Again, putting things into context amongst his primary AL third base peers with at least 400 plate appearances, Garcia ranked first in AVG, fourth in OBP, sixth in SLG, fifth in OPS, fourth in runs scored, tied for third in RBI, tied for sixth in homers and fifth in wRC+.

Vinnie Pasquantino may have an outside shot at a Silver Slugger nomination in 2025

If Witt Jr. and Garcia were the driving forces of this offense, then right there with them was Vinnie Pasquantino.

Now, you might ask, how can Pasquantino be right alongside them and not be considered surefire prediction to be a finalist for the same award?

Well, the problem is that the competition at first base in the AL appears to be a lot thicker at the top-end than the other two aforementioned Royals studs experience at their positions. After all, this is a position that features the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Nick Kurtz, Jonathan Aranda, Ben Rice and Spencer Torkelson.

The key with Witt and Garcia is that in an overarching and all-encompassing offensive stat like wRC+, they rank among the top five in their positions, where as Pasquantino falls on the outside looking in on that elusive top five ranking – sitting sixth (which would have been seventh if it weren’t for the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom moving to left field).

However, there always has to be some value to being in a 30+ HR and 100+ RBI hitter who strikes out only 15.7% of the time while holding a mid-.200s AVG and high-.400s SLG.

While there may be some first baseman who have a better shot at hearing their name announced as a Silver Slugger finalist next week, it shouldn’t come as a complete shock if one of them does manage to be Pasquantino.