Bobby Witt Jr. arrived in Kansas City as the centerpiece of a franchise-wide reset, a second-overall pick tasked with carrying the legacy of a championship era into a new generation. From the moment he stepped onto the grass at Kauffman Stadium, he has played with a high-velocity style that combines historic speed with a specialized power stroke. While the team faced a steep climb back to relevance following their 2015 title, Witt has been the primary engine of a resurgence that has transformed the Royals into a postseason threat once again.

Witt’s emergence in Kansas City began with a rapid ascent through the minor league system, punctuated by a 2021 Minor League Player of the Year honor that set the stage for his debut. He secured his place on the major league roster in 2022, and while he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, it was his 2023 campaign that signaled his transition into a premier American League outlier. That summer, he became a statistical anomaly by recording the first 30-30 season in franchise history, leading the league in triples and showcasing a focused intensity that made him a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

The core of his time in Kansas City reached a historic peak during a dominant 2024 season. Witt exploded into the upper tier of global superstars, capturing the American League batting title with a .332 average and leading the majors with 211 hits. He became the first shortstop in the history of the sport to record back-to-back 30-30 seasons, a high-frequency display of power and speed that earned him a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. His performance was the driving force behind the team's return to the postseason, as he finished second in the MVP voting and established himself as a model of elite, day-to-day production.

Everything culminated in a 2025 campaign that solidified his reputation as a multi-dimensional force. Despite a season of organizational ups and downs, Witt maintained his status as a premier defender, winning his second consecutive Gold Glove and adding the American League Platinum Glove to his trophy case. He reached the 100-career home run milestone during the summer, becoming one of the youngest players in history to pair that mark with 100 stolen bases. Even as the club navigated a difficult 82-win season, he remained a statistical outlier, leading the majors in doubles and hits while securing his second straight All-Star selection.

Entering 2026, Witt is the face of the franchise, and they will go as far as he can take them.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Houston Astros.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note that our algorithm has changed, which yielded minor changes throughout the baseball lists.

Last year, the Astros expectedly returned to the postseason but were dismissed in two games in the Wildcard by the Houston Astros.  There was one new entry and three significant elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes.

1. Jeff Bagwell

2. Craig Biggio

3. Jose Altuve

4. Lance Berkman

5. Cesar Cedeno 

You can find the entire list here. 

Of note, Jose Altuve remained at #3, and as good as he has been still has some work to do to surpass Hall of Fame inductee, Craig Biggio for #2.

The elevations were Alex Bregman (#11 to #8), Yordan Alvarez (#27 to #19) and Kyle Tucker (#33 to #23). 

The new entrant is Framber Valdez, who debuts at #31.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Framber Valdez joined the Houston organization in 2015 as an international free agent, a late bloomer who signed at 21, a time when many of his contemporaries were already reaching the upper levels of the minors. Despite the late start and a modest $10,000 signing bonus, he utilized a heavy, high-velocity sinker to power through the system, making his debut in 2018.

After struggling with his command in 2019, he credits a focus on mental fortitude with his 2020 breakout, in which he demonstrated a specialized ability to handle adversity on the mound. He finished 11th in the Cy Young voting during that shortened season.  By 2021, he had officially seized a permanent role at the top of the rotation, providing the high-frequency output and veteran-like poise that helped the Astros return to the World Series.

During the 2022 campaign, he evolved into the most durable southpaw in the American League, recording a record-breaking 25 consecutive quality starts. He demonstrated a specialized ability to keep the ball on the ground, leading the league with 201.1 innings pitched and finishing fifth in the Cy Young voting. Most importantly, he showed the organization that he was a big-game performer, going 3-for-3 in the 2022 postseason, including two dominant wins in the World Series, helping secure the franchise's second championship. He followed this with back-to-back All-Star selections and two more top-ten Cy Young finishes in 2023 and 2024, amassing 200 strikeouts in a season for the first time in his career.

The heart of his final years in Houston was characterized by elite durability, though not without moments of intense internal friction. In September 2025, Valdez was at the center of a controversial "cross-up" incident where he struck his own catcher, César Salazar, in the chest with a 93 mph sinker immediately after surrendering a grand slam. While Valdez apologized and maintained it was accidental, the moment highlighted the "mercurial" side of his competitive drive that occasionally flared up during high-leverage games.

Valdez was a free agent after the season, and Houston did not aggressively pursue him, though he signed with Detroit.  As an Astro, he compiled a 68-45 record, 881 strikeouts, and a 2022 World Series Championship.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Chicago Cubs will induct Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee to their franchise Hall of Fame this year.

The induction of Sosa is the culmination of two decades of acrimony between Sosa and the Cubs.  Sosa, who was a beloved figure in Chicago in the 90s as he was going deep at an astronomical level saw the tide turn against him when it was believed that he took PEDs.  The last days of his run at Wrigley saw him leave early in the 2004 Season Finale.  The Cubs had stated that Sosa would not be welcomed back to the organization unless an apology occurred, which happened, albeit cryptically last December.

“There were times I did whatever I could to recovery from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games.  I never broke any laws.  But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”

Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 in what turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in team history.  By the mid-90s, Sosa had at least 35 Home Runs from 1995 to 2004, winning two Home Run Titles (2000 & 2002), two RBI Titles (1997 & 2001) and won the 1998 MVP.  Sosa also won six Silver Sluggers, and as a Cub would compile 545 Home Runs, 1414 RBIs and a .928 OPS.

Derrek Lee played for the Cubs from 2004 to 2010 amassing 179 Home Runs, 1,046 Hits with two All-Star Games.  His best season was in 2005, where he led the National League in Hits (199) and Doubles (50) and was third in MVP voting.  He also won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers as a Cub.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.