Yankees go back-to-back with AL Rookie of the Month winners

by Felix Pantaleón

Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar as the American League Rookie of the Month for June. Teamamte Gleyber Torres was the AL Rookie of the Month for May. In June, Andujar hit .264 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 25 games.

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For the second straight month, a Yankee is the American League Rookie of the Month. In May, the honor went to second baseman Gleyber Torres. In June, third baseman Miguel Andujar receives the hardware.

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Here are the details, per the press release by MLB:

New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar has been voted American League Rookie of the Month for June, and Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto has been voted National League Rookie of the Month for the third month of the 2018 season. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Andujar posted a slash line of .264/.302/.560 with 10 runs scored, 24 hits, six doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBI across 25 games played to claim his first career monthly honor. Miguel finished his strong month among AL rookies with a minimum of 20 at-bats first in home runs, extra-base hits, RBI and slugging percentage; second in hits and doubles; tied for second in runs scored; and seventh in batting average. The right-handed-hitting slugger is the second-consecutive Yankee to take home AL Rookie of the Month honors, following fellow infielder Gleyber Torres, who was the AL Winner in May.

Andujar collected 12 hits through the first eight games of his award-winning month, slashing .444/.516/.926 with four runs scored, four doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI. Included in his torrid start to the month, the Dominican Republic native clubbed the first grand slam of his career against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 5th, matching his career high in RBI (4) with the performance. On Friday night against the archrival Boston Red Sox, Andujar batted 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead New York to an 8-1 victory. Still two weeks away from the 2018 Midsummer Classic in Washington DC, Miguel is the fifth Yankees rookie in franchise history to club at least 10 homers prior to the All-Star Game, joining his teammates Torres (14 HR, 2018) and Aaron Judge (30, 2017), as well as Nick Johnson (11, 2002) and Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio (11, 1936), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Joined by his All-Star hopeful teammate Torres, the dynamic duo is the first pair of rookies in Club history to accomplish the feat in the same season, and the first in the Majors since Corey Seager (17) and Trayce Thompson (13) of the 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition, the fourth-inning homer on Friday was the 39th extra-base hit of his career. Through their first 74 career games played, only DiMaggio (54) and Bob Meusel (46) in Yankees lore totaled more extra-base hits during that time.

Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Dustin Fowler (.294, 10 R, 6 XBH, 10 RBI) and relief pitcher Lou Trivino (4-1, 2.45 ERA, 14.2 IP, 18 SO) of the Oakland Athletics; shortstop Willy Adames (4 R, 13 H, 3 XBH, 6 RBI), first baseman Jake Bauers (.267, 12 R, 11 XBH, 7 RBI) and pitcher Ryne Stanek (12 G, 15.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 19 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and starting pitcher Shane Bieber (3-0, 0.96 ERA, 18.2 IP, 21 SO) of the Cleveland Indians.