Today, Major League Baseball announced its monthly award winners for the month of June. As expected, Nationals starter Max Scherzer won Pitcher of the Month in the American League. His AL counterpart was Gerrit Cole of the Astros.
Scherzer’s June was historically great. He went 6-0 with a 1.00 ERA and a 68/5 K/BB ratio across 45 innings. He’s just the fourth pitcher in the modern era to post a 1.00 ERA or lower with at least 68 strikeouts in a single calendar month. The other three are Pedro Martínez (0.86 ERA, 71 strikeouts in September/October 1999), Roger Clemens (0.90 ERA, 68 strikeouts in August 1998), and Randy Johnson (0.92 ERA, 68 strikeouts in June 1997). Scherzer, by the way, made three of his six June starts after breaking his nose during a bunting drill.
Cole, no slouch himself, went 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA and a 49/10 K/BB ratio in 38 innings in June.
The other monthly award winners:
Players of the Month
- AL: IF DJ LeMahieu, Yankees: .395/.434/.658, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 26 R in 122 PA
- NL: OF Charlie Blackmon, Rockies: .412/.441/.835, 10 HR, 25 RBI, 30 R in 102 PA
Rookies of the Month
- AL: OF/DH Yordan Álvarez, Astros: .317/.406/.733, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 12 R in 69 PA
- NL: 1B Pete Alonso, Mets: .307/.435/.653, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 20 R in 124 PA
Relievers of the Month
- AL: Liam Hendriks, Athletics: 0.60 ERA, 2 SV, 22/4 K/BB in 15 IP
- NL: Josh Hader, Brewers: 0.68 ERA, 7 SV, 25/4 K/BB in 13 1/3 IP
