These Months in the RLB - AL Edition

Sorry, life has been busy recently, but I did want to catch the AL up on the great performances we've seen over the last 3 months.

August

Rookie and Pitcher of the Month: SP Phil Kovacs (SEA). He posted a 6-0 record in August with a 1.85 ERA and 33 K's in 48.2 innings. It's been a bit of an up and down season for Kovacs, but he was absolutely lights out in August by not only pitching quality innings, but going deep into games. Of his 6 starts, he only didn't make it at least 8 innings in just one of them. Kovacs has an extremely bright future ahead for a young Mariners team and doing his best Duch impression will help (R.I.P.). Although, my crystal ball shows he may struggle in September...

Batter of the Month: DH Ruben Mendez (TOR). A key part in the Karr deal, Mendez is a familiar face among the BOTM award. He mashed to a tune of a 0.349 average with 9 homers, 22 RBI's and 26 runs scored. After August, his stat line read 0.292 with 27 homers. His bat will be a key part if the Jays can stay atop the AL East.

July

Rookie of the Month: SP Sean Armentrout (MIN). I mean... how could he not be here? He has "trout" in his name. The rookie lefty pitcher was 3-1 over 38 innings with striking out 16 and only walking 5. Minnesota looks to hang in the wild card race and a big part of that is due to their pitching staff.

Pitcher of the Month: CL Eric Dahlke (CAL). It has been kind of a rocky season for Dahlke, but he's a joy to watch when he dominates. The AL saves leader posted a 4-1 record in 15 appearances with an opponent batting average of 0.164 and striking out 11. The inconsistencies need to be ironed out, but let's see if he can get hot for an Angel playoff run.

Batter of the Month: DH Joe Goergen (CWS). I don't know if you've heard, but Goergen is a fan of hitting homers. He did just that in July with 9, as he chases the RLB home run record, to go along with a 0.380 batting average, 28 RBI's and 19 runs scored. As of the end of July, he hit 0.296 with 35 bombs and 98 RBI's. GOERGEN GOOD. Maybe a trade across town is in his future? Meanwhile, he will look to propel GM Kyle's first divisional title since joining.

June

Rookie of the Month: LF Same Davis (OAK).

Pitcher of the Month: SP Rich Hare (CWS).

Batter of the Month: Phil Kruger (CAL).

Unfortunately all of the emails from this time and I don't have time to individually add up the stats for each game in June. So, let's just talk about what type of players these 3 guys have been. Sam Davis actually no longer plays for Oakland, as he was moved prior to the 1983 trade deadline to the Cubbies. The lefty outfielder is a below average defender, but makes up for it with a great bat against righties. With enough contact (50) to go along with good power (65) and a great eye (70), Davis appears to be on his way to being an good RLB masher. Not to mention, he has more growth in both contact and eye (5 in each category).

Future Hall of Famer Rich Hare continues to post dominant seasons at the age of 35. The lefty ace hasn't posted a sub-4.2 WAR since 1974 and only has one season (his rookie year) with an ERA over 3.70. To go along with great numbers, his rookie season is the only time he's thrown under 220 innings. As soon as his name hits the ballot, he's got my vote.

Phil Krueger has finally put it all together. The 27-year old lefty first baseman is having an MVP-caliber season after his big extension this off-season. I'm not going to brag too much about my best player. You all know he's pretty good. Hopefully he continues to be.