MLB Team of the Month, July: Josh Donaldson, David Ortiz and Joey Votto Star
August might be the most important month on the baseball calendar. A hot-or-cold streak can improve—or destroy—a team's playoff chances, while it also represents the last opportunity for teams to bring in reinforcements from outside their organization.
But before we get fully engrossed in the upcoming trade deadline madness—the non-waiver trade deadline arrives Monday, in case you missed it—let's take a look back at July with the latest edition of Bleacher Report's Team of the Month.
As has been the case all season, the rules remain the same: We've picked 10 players—one per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher—who have put together noteworthy performances over the past 31 days.
While there's a healthy dose of veterans on this month's club, a handful of hotshot youngsters forced their way into the conversation as well.
Who stood out as July's best of the best? Let's take a look.
Catcher: Yasmani Grandal, Los Angeles Dodgers
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If there was a way to convince Yasmani Grandal that every month was July, then the 27-year-old might be mentioned in the same breath as Jonathan Lucroy and Buster Posey as one of the game's elite catchers.
For whatever the reason, July has historically been the most productive month of his career, according to Baseball-reference.com. So it's not surprising to see him leading all catchers in multiple categories, including home runs (seven), slugging percentage (.679) and OPS (1.113).
That kind of performance has helped the Los Angeles Dodgers pull within two games of the San Francisco Giants for the National League West lead, something that wasn't lost on manager Dave Roberts.
"He's been unbelievable, swinging the bat a lot better and a big homer tonight," Roberts said, per MLB.com's Bill Chastain and Ken Gurnick, after Grandal took Tampa Bay ace Chris Archer deep on Tuesday. "Behind the plate he's been great working with pitchers, blocking balls and that was a huge home run off a very good pitcher."
Honorable Mention
Wilson Ramos (WAS): .312 BA, .844 OPS, 6 XBH (3 HR), 10 RBI
First Base: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
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Joey Votto doesn't care what anyone thinks of his penchant for trolling fans in visiting ballparks. With the way he's been swinging the bat, chances are the Cincinnati Reds don't care, either.
The four-time All-Star and former National League MVP was baseball's most productive hitter in July, regardless of position.
Votto led the way in batting average (.415), on-base percentage (.551), OPS (1.212) and walks (22), posting a walk rate of nearly 25 percent in the process, according to FanGraphs. He also contributed eight extra-base hits (four home runs), 12 RBI and scored 19 runs.
Honorable Mention
Hanley Ramirez (BOS): .303 BA, 1.024 OPS, 11 XBH (5 HR), 15 RBI
Second Base: Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals
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The competition was stiff at second base, where San Diego Padres rookie Ryan Schimpf's .280 batting average, 15 extra-base hits (nine home runs) and position-leading 1.131 OPS was nearly enough to beat out Washington's Daniel Murphy for the starting nod on our Team of the Month.
But Murphy's .351 batting average, 17 extra-base hits (seven home runs) and 1.121 OPS get the nod. Ultimately, it came down to strikeouts: Murphy fanned only seven times on the month, while Schimpf went down swinging 26 times.
Murphy also came up big against his former team and Washington's division rival, the New York Mets. Over a four-game series between the clubs, he hit .412 (7-for-17) with a pair of doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.503 OPS, drawing boos from the Citi Field stands with every plate appearance.
“I guess that means you’re doing something to help your ball club win a game that day against that team,” Murphy told the New York Times' James Wagner. “So that’s the way I’ll look at it.”
Honorable Mention
Ryan Schimpf (SD): .280 BA, 1.131 OPS, 15 XBH (9 HR), 17 RBI
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Third Base: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
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The hot corner presented another hotly contested battle, this one a three-way tilt between Toronto's Josh Donaldson, Seattle's Kyle Seager and Los Angeles' Justin Turner, all three posting an OPS above 1.000 for the month.
We're giving the nod to Donaldson, the self-appointed "Bringer of Rain" and reigning American League MVP who drew more walks (16) than strikeouts (12) and led the position with 21 RBI and 1.082 OPS. That he hit .333 with a .451 on-base percentage didn't hurt his case for the starting job, either.
Donaldson is not only having a season worthy of a second consecutive MVP Award, but, in just over a year-and-a-half in Toronto, is already being hailed as one of the greatest Blue Jays in franchise history, according to the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons.
Honorable Mentions
Kyle Seager (SEA): .363 BA, 1.069 OPS, 14 XBH (5 HR), 17 RBI
Justin Turner (LAD): .329 BA, 1.043 OPS, 13 XBH (7 HR), 20 RBI
Shortstop: Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies
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While other shortstops were impressive in July, only one—Trevor Story—can say that he broke a National League rookie record.
Story's two-run home run off Atlanta's Matt Wisler in the second inning on Saturday not only gave Colorado an early 2-1 lead, but it made him the most prolific home-run hitting rookie in NL history, breaking the record held by former Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
“It’s pretty cool,” Story told the Denver Post's Patrick Saunders. “I think it’s cool because Tulo set it before and he’s kind of my mentor and he helped me out a lot. So to break his record is pretty cool.”
Story wasn't done, either, as he'd break a 3-3 tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning and hit a solo shot off Braves reliever Jim Johnson in the eighth, finishing the day 4-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBI.
“I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said,” grinning manager Walt Weiss told Saunders. “He’s having a great year. It seems like he breaks another record every week or so. He just keeps clicking. He’s having a dream season.”
On the month, Story hit .288 with 11 extra-base hits (eight home runs), 21 RBI and a 1.034 OPS.
Honorable Mention
Andrelton Simmons (LAA): .391 BA, .903 OPS, 8 XBH (0 HR), 11 RBI
Left Field: Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Entering play on June 13, Howie Kendrick was hitting .219 with a .560 OPS, numbers far below the career .293 batting average and .755 OPS he carried into the season. And while he'd get hot leading up to the All-Star Game, hitting .322 with a .885 OPS, the 11-year veteran wasn't happy with his production.
“I’m trying to battle when I am playing,” Kendrick told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times at the All-Star break. “I haven’t really had a hot streak. Maybe July will be the month. It seems like the whole first half has been pretty slow.”
He was right.
Kendrick went on a tear in July, hitting .373 with 12 extra-base hits (three home runs), 10 RBI and a 1.037 OPS, with the Dodgers going 13-8 in games he played. He's also proven to be solid defensively, despite having to learn a new position after spending the bulk of his career at second base.
Honorable Mention
Eddie Rosario (MIN): .343 BA, .928 OPS, 10 XBH (2 HR), 10 RBI
Center Field: Tyler Naquin, Cleveland Indians
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Detroit's Michael Fulmer might be the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award, but Cleveland's Tyler Naquin isn't going to concede the honor without putting up a fight.
The 25-year-old led all qualified center fielders with a 1.090 OPS in July, hitting .333 with 11 extra-base hits (six home runs) and 15 RBI. Those are good numbers for anyone, especially someone who has been stuck hitting eighth in the lineup for most of the season.
"He's playing with a lot of confidence as he should," Indians manager Terry Francona explained to the Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes. "Sometimes you see guys who continue to get better because they believe that not only do they belong, but they can start to thrive. That's what he's doing."
Honorable Mention
Mike Trout (LAA): .274 BA, .890 OPS, 9 XBH (2 HR), 12 RBI, 6-for-6 SB
Right Field: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
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There might not have been a more hyped-up player heading into the regular season than Boston's Mookie Betts, and the 23-year-old has done just what many said he'd do—put together a MVP-worthy campaign.
He led all qualified right fielders with a .376 batting average, .407 on-base percentage and 1.056 OPS, picking up 15 extra-base hits (four home runs) and 12 RBI while successfully swiping four bases in five attempts.
Betts also made the first of what is sure to be many appearances at the All-Star Game, going 1-for-2 with a run scored in the Midsummer Classic. Of course, none of this means that Betts will win the MVP Award, especially with one of his teammates having an even more impressive season...
Honorable Mention
Giancarlo Stanton (MIA): .318 BA, 1.042 OPS, 14 XBH (7 HR), 19 RBI
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
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David Ortiz led all designated hitters in July with seven home runs, 21 RBI, .608 slugging percentage and .908 OPS, continuing to swing the bat like a legitimate MVP candidate and a player in his prime, not a 40-year-old on the last leg of his farewell tour.
"He's been amazing, really. I've never seen anything like it," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus told MLive.com's Evan Woodbery. "He might want to rethink that retirement thing. He's impressive. I know this: I wasn't hitting like that when I was 40. Of course, I wasn't hitting like that when I was 25, either."
For the year, Ortiz leads all of baseball in doubles (31), slugging percentage (.657) and OPS (1.073). He's second in RBI (84), fourth in on-base percentage (.417), tied for fifth in batting average (.325) and tied for seventh in home runs (25).
Honorable Mention
Carlos Santana (CLE): .280 BA, .930 OPS, 12 XBH (5 HR), 13 RBI
Pitcher: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
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It came down to a trio of big-time starters—Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander—for the pitching spot on our Team of the Month, but we've got to give the nod to the elder statesman of the group, the 33-year-old Verlander.
Unlike Bumgarner and Strasburg, who each had a July start in which they allowed at least four earned runs, Verlander was spectacular, allowing no more than two earned runs in any of his five starts on the month.
He'd finish July 3-0 with a 1.60 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, scattering 21 hits over 33.2 innings of work, walking 11 and striking out 37.
Honorable Mentions
Madison Bumgarner (SF): 5 GS, 1-2, 1.75 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 36 IP, 24 H, 7 BB, 44 K
Stephen Strasburg (WAS): 5 GS, 4-1, 2.08 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 15 H, 12 BB, 37 K
All statistics courtesy of MLB.com, unless otherwise noted, and are current through games of July 28.
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.
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