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When the 2025 season ended, Kansas City Royals were obviously disappointed in the overall outcome that came. However, if they weren’t going to return to the postseason a least they had some hope for some players receiving award recognition.<\/p>\n
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While they opened the award season with tons of promise – with the three Gold Glove nominations (two of which won<\/a>) and four Silver Slugger nominations<\/a> – many eyes were on the coveted BBWAA awards and the Royals who seemed poised to be among those in the final running<\/a> for some prestigious honors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But Monday’s announcement was certainly not what Royals fans would’ve hoped for<\/a> as their two best shots at seeing a member of their squad come home with some individual hardware were immediately dashed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bobby Witt Jr. surprisingly was not among the finalists for AL MVP this season<\/a> and Noah Cameron missed out on a top three finish for AL Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Witt’s MVP omission is a little harder to understand, Cameron falling short of being an ROY finalist is disappointing, but not an utter shock. You simply have to chalk it up to an first-year field crowded with talent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Statistically, Cameron didn’t do anything wrong to leave himself outside of the finalist field, as the 26-year-old was nothing short of a godsend for this Royals rotations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In fact, he was considered right in the mix late into the season, with some publications, like ESPN, placing him firmly within the top five contenders late into the season<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After bursting onto the scene with a near no-hit bid in his first career start<\/a>, Cameron crafted a 2.99 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and .214 BAA in 138.1 innings across 24 starts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But for as great as his stats look, there’s some question of whether he dominated the scene quite like other rookies did in their debut campaigns this season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His sub-3.00 ERA is certainly impressive, but when paired with a 4.18 FIP, there’s always going to be the argument that he got somewhat lucky at point this season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then there’s the fact that he wasn’t a dominant swing-and-miss arm by any means, posting a 7.42 K\/9 and landing in the 33rd percentile in K-rate this year<\/a>. Strikeouts aren’t the be-all-end-all for being a successful MLB pitcher, however in an era defined by stars like Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet, a bit of flashy strikeout dominance makes a lasting impression.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cameron’s numbers were good, but he just didn’t seem to dominate his role in a way that the three candiates did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Anyone other than Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz winning this award would be surprising. The 22-year-old phenom teetered on being a .300 hitter (hitting for a .290 AVG) while 36 homers and driving in 86. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For further context, among hitters with at least 450 plate appearances this year, only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani posted higher OPS and wRC+ totals than Kurtz<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then there’s Roman Anthony, who may’ve been in the majors later some baseball fans would’ve wanted, but he hit the ground running once he got his opportunity, showcasing an immense understanding of major league hitting by approaching a .300 AVG (.292) while sporting a near-.400 OBP (.396) – thanks to a 13.2% walk rate – and an ability to hit the ball extremely hard with a 60.3% hard-hit rate. <\/p>\n <\/p>\nStrong AL rookie class is the reason Noah Cameron won’t win AL ROY in 2025<\/h2>\n