For the second consecutive month, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto has been voted National League Rookie of the Month in July, and Toronto Blue Jays infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been voted American League Rookie of the Month for the fourth month of the 2018 season. The announcement was made Thursday on MLB Network.
Soto posted a slash line of .299/.398/.526 with 18 runs scored, 29 hits, five doubles, a triple, five home runs, 15 RBI, 16 walks and a stolen base across 25 games played to claim his second straight monthly honor. Juan finished his strong month among NL rookies (min. 20 at-bats) first in runs scored, hits, RBI and walks; tied for first in triples, home runs and extra-base this (11); fifth in slugging percentage; tied for fifth in doubles; sixth in batting average; and seventh in on-base percentage. Soto is the first National Leaguer to take home consecutive Rookie of the Month honors since the eventual NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers last season (May-June), and the first Nationals rookie since his teammate Trea Turner in 2016 (August-September).
On July 27th against the Miami Marlins, Soto batted 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a triple, one home run and three RBI to lead the Nationals to a 9-1 victory. The outing marked his third consecutive game with a round-tripper, establishing the longest streak of his young career. In addition, it was his third straight contest with a pair of runs scored. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native became just the third left-handed slugger in Expos/Nationals history to log three consecutive games with at least two runs scored and a home run, joining his All-Star teammate Bryce Harper (May 6-9, 2015) and Henry Rodriguez (April 20-23, 1996).
Moreover, with 13 home runs as a teenager, the 19-year-old is tied with Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle (1951) for the sixth-most homers by a teenager in Major League history. Only nine players in Major league history have clubbed at least 10 home runs during their teenage years. Entering play today with a slash line of .309/.415/.559, Soto is on pace to become the first player under 20 years old in MLB history to slash at least .300/.400/.500 in a campaign.
Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Jesse Winker (.442, 11 R, 23 H, 7 XBH) of the Cincinnati Reds; infielder Yairo Muñoz (.322, 10 R, 9 XBH, 14 RBI) of the St. Louis Cardinals; third baseman Brian Anderson (16 R, 26 H, 4 HR, 11 RBI) of the Miami Marlins; outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (11 R, 21 H, 6 2B, 5 HR) and relief pitcher A.J. Minter (9 G, 3.24 ERA, 4 SV, 13 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; starting pitcher Dereck Rodríguez (2-0, 1.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 21 SO) of the San Francisco Giants; and reliever Edgar Santana (14 G, 0.64 ERA, 14.0 IP, 17 SO) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gurriel batted .423 (30-for-71) with nine runs scored, four doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI over 17 games played to earn his first career monthly award. Among AL rookie hitters with at least 20 at-bats, Lourdes finished the month first in hits and batting average; tied for first in RBI; second in home runs, on-base percentage (.438) and slugging percentage (.648); and tied for fifth in extra-base hits (8). This is Toronto's first AL Rookie of the Month Award since Gurriel's teammate Devon Travis in April 2015.
In the final game of his award-winning month on July 29th against the Chicago White Sox, Gurriel collected three hits to go along with a pair of RBI to lead the Blue Jays to a 7-4 victory. Posting his third consecutive outing with at least two hits and two RBI, the Cuban native tied Josh Donaldson (September 15-17, 2017) for the second-longest such streak in Blue Jays history. Two-time All-Star John Olerud recorded a streak of four straight games from June 21-25, 1990 to pace the franchise. In addition, the multi-hit effort was his 11th in a row dating back to July 11th. The 24-year-old established a new franchise record for the most consecutive multi-hit outings, eclipsing the previous mark set by five-time All-Star Tony Fernández (June 18-27, 1986). Gurriel became just the sixth player since at least 1908 to post a multi-hit streak of at least 11 games in a single season, joining Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby (July 5-18, 1923), Tony Perez (August 8-20, 1973), Paul Waner (June 3-16, 1927) and Sam Rice (May 26-June 3, 1927), as well as Shoeless Joe Jackson (June 21-30, 1912). The right-handed-hitting slugger became the first rookie in Major League history to accomplish the feat. Following his strong period at the plate, Gurriel became the third player (fourth time) in Club history to bat at least .420 with 30-or-more hits in a single calendar month, joining Fernández (May 1999) and Olerud (April 1993 & June 1993).
Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Daniel Palka (15 R, 17 H, 8 HR, 14 RBI) of the Chicago White Sox; infielder Joey Wendle (.360, 11 R, 27 H, 9 XBH) of the Tampa Bay Rays; backstop Mitch Garver (.316, 7 R, 4 2B, 3 HR) of the Minnesota Twins; last month's AL Rookie of the Month Miguel Andújar (.330, 13 R, 29 H, 7 2B) of the New York Yankees; relief pitcher Lou Trivino (2-0, 0.57 ERA, 15.2 IP, 20 SO) of the Oakland Athletics; and infielder David Fletcher (.286, 13 R, 24 H, 6 2B) of the Los Angeles Angels.
In recognition of their Rookie of the Month Awards, Juan Soto and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will each receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments.