Merrifield, Barlow named Royals Player, Pitcher of the Month for June
KANSAS CITY, MO. (July 2, 2021) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and right-handed pitcher Scott Barlow have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for the month of June. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Merrifield, 32, led the Majors with 40 hits last month—the most in any month of his career—becoming the first Royal to record 40 hits in a calendar month since Jon Jay (43) in May 2018. He became the first Royal to lead the Majors in hits in any calendar month since Johnny Damon (51) did so in July 2000. Merrifield recorded a hit in 24 of his 27 games and batted .351, which ranked ninth in the Majors, and he tied for the American League lead with seven stolen bases. Whit had 12 extra-base hits—one shy of the team lead—including six doubles, two triples and four home runs. He also led the team with 17 RBI, including his 10th career leadoff home run on Tuesday in Boston. This is Merrifield’s sixth Royals Player of the Month Award, matching Damon for the fifth most among position players since the award’s inception in 1995, trailing only Alex Gordon (13), Mike Sweeney (13), Eric Hosmer (8) and Billy Butler (8).
Barlow, 28, pitched in 11 of the Royals 27 games in June—one shy of the team lead—including nine scoreless appearances, and pitched to a 1.69 ERA (2 ER in 10.2 IP) with 14 strikeouts (11.8 K/9) and a .231 opponents’ average (9-for-39). He recorded the final six outs to save a 6-5 win on June 3 vs. Minnesota, and he’s one of two pitchers with multiple six-out saves this season (also April 15 vs. Toronto), joining Raisel Iglesias. He did surrender a solo home run to Rafael Devers on June 18, which snapped a 38.0-inning homerless streak, which was the third-longest active run at the time, according to Elias. This is Barlow’s second straight Royals Pitcher of the Month Award, making him the first pitcher to earn the honor in consecutive months since Brad Keller from August-September 2018.