Bobby Witt Jr., Daniel Lynch IV named Royals Player/Pitcher of the Month for September

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— The Kansas City Royals announced this morning that infielder Bobby Witt Jr. and left-handed pitcher Daniel Lynch IV have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for September. The awards are determined by a local media vote.

Witt Jr. led the Royals last month with a .278 batting average (25-for-90), 9 extra-base hits and 13 RBI. He hit safely in 19 of his 24 games in September, and overall this season, his 128 games with at least 1 hit led the Majors. He opened the month with his 30th home run of the season on Sept. 1 in Houston, becoming just the second player in Royals history with multiple 30-homer campaigns—along with Danny Tartabull in 1987 and 1991—and he was the first player in franchise history to do so in back-to-back seasons. He recorded his 30th stolen base on Sept. 17 vs. Detroit, making him the first shortstop in Major League history with multiple 30-homer, 30-steal seasons. Witt Jr. finished the regular season with a Major League-leading 211 hits, earning the ninth 200-hit season by a Royal in franchise history. He also led the Majors with a .332 batting average, joining Mookie Betts (32 HR, 30 SB, MLB-best .346 avg. in 2018) as the only two players to ever lead the Majors in batting average during a 30-homer/30-steal season. This year, Witt Jr. became just the third Royal to lead the Major Leagues in average, following George Brett in 1980 (.390) and Willie Wilson in 1982 (.332). This unanimous selection marks Witt Jr.’s fourth monthly honor of the season (also May, July and August) and the eighth of his career, which already matches Salvador Perez and Billy Butler for the 4th most by a Royals position player since the award was established in 1995.

Lynch IV scattered just 8 hits and 5 walks across 17.1 scoreless innings in the month of September, extending his scoreless streak to 20.2 frames dating back to Aug. 26 (G2), which finished the regular season as the 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors behind only Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kelly, who will enter 2025 with a 24.1-inning streak. Lynch IV was the only pitcher in the Majors to record at least 15.0 innings without allowing a run last month, and he was the first Royals pitcher to spin at least 15.0 scoreless innings in any calendar month since Matt Strahm recorded 15.1 scoreless frames in August 2016. He pitched to a 6.35 ERA (16 ER in 22.2 IP) over his 1st 5 outings (3 starts) with the Royals this season, after which he was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on June 13. He was recalled on Aug. 26 and hasn’t allowed a run in 20.2 innings since, going 2-0 with 1 save over 11 appearances. During this stretch, he’s limited opponents to a .130 batting average (9-for-69) and opponents are 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Since his recall on Aug. 26, his .130 opponents’ average is the 2nd-lowest mark in the American League (min. 75 BF), behind only Detroit’s Beau Brieske (.127). This marks Lynch IV’s second career monthly honor, following June 2023.