KANSAS CITY -- Outfielder/DH Jorge Soler, who set the Royals’ franchise record for home runs with 48 in 2019, was named the team’s Les Milgram Player of the Year, the club announced on Tuesday.

Additionally, right-hander Ian Kennedy was named the team’s Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year, and super utility man Whit Merrifield won the team’s Joe Burke Special Achievement Award.

Soler, 27, was the first Royal to lead the American League in homers, with 10 more than the previous record set by Mike Moustakas in 2017. His home run total also set a Major League record by a Cuban-born player, topping Rafael Palmeiro’s 1999 and '01 marks by one.

Soler also had a career-high 117 RBIs, which tied for second in the AL and were the most by a Royal since 2000, when Mike Sweeney set the club record with 144 and Jermaine Dye had 118.

Kennedy, 35, was moved to the bullpen for the first time in his career last season and recorded 30 saves, good for fourth in the AL. Of those 30, a Major League-best 28 of them came between May 30 and season’s end.

Merrifield, 30, led the Majors with a career-high 206 hits last season, the most in the AL since 2016 and matching Sweeney (2000) for the sixth most in franchise history. After leading the Majors with 192 hits in '18, Merrifield became just the second right-handed batter to do it in consecutive seasons, joining Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (1988-89).