00:00So the American League had a bunch of possible candidates for AL Player of the Month, and we'll see who
00:06actually wins it, but who were the guys that jumped to the forefront of your mind? Because I'll give you
00:10a quick three off the top of my head.
00:12You know, the war leader in the American League over the course of the month was Bobby Witt Jr., because
00:16Bobby Witt's just a ridiculous defender, and he had a 136 WRC+. That's great. Cody Bellinger had five homers, 23
00:23driven in. He had over 300. He had a 1.6 war.
00:26Kurtz had a really high war as well, but my eyes gravitate towards a couple of different guys. Junior Caminero
00:33in Tampa jumped out six homers, drove in 15, hit over 300 with a 440 OBP. It was a 172
00:39WRC+. Two other guys that I want to shout out here, based on what the White Sox did this month,
00:46I do want to give some credit to Miguel Vargas, who had nine homers, 23 driven in, and a 160
00:54WRC+.
00:54In the month of May. And then Julio Rodriguez, dude. Julio had 10 homers as Seattle started to get hot.
01:00So those were the guys that jumped out to me.
01:03Yeah, if Julio was getting on base a little bit more, and I know that's always kind of the thing
01:07there, I think absolutely. And also, it's really hard to judge defense in the span of a month.
01:12But, you know, just maybe misplayed a couple balls. Maybe got docked unfairly on a couple as well. And so
01:18he didn't grade out, you know, quite as elitely as he does, generally, defensively.
01:23So I think that docked him a little bit. But I think when you look at what Kurtz did this
01:27month, too, man. I mean, 456 OBP. We talk about him being one of the most feared in the game.
01:31He just continues to be pitched to as one of the most feared hitters in the game. I look at
01:37that, and I gravitate towards him hitting .333 in a month, getting on base at a .456 clip.
01:42It's been cool to see Kurtz, you know, have these months where five homers, which is nothing to be, like,
01:49upset about.
01:50But five homers is still, you know, with just that total, he's still able to be as productive as he
01:56was because of the walks, because of the improved bat-to-ball.
01:58And then the others, and a podcast piece shouting out, and I agree, kind of cut from the same cloth
02:02here, doesn't need nine or ten homers to be at the top of the production on the leaderboards here in
02:07the month.
02:07Jonathan Aranda, guy hit .350 this month, .354 to be exact. Third highest OBP in the month in all of
02:14baseball, .444, and a .169 WRC+.
02:17Aranda just continues to absolutely rake for the raise. And you talk about stories, that's been one of the best
02:23teams in baseball.
02:24You mentioned Caminero. Maybe those guys are cannibalizing each other a little bit, unfortunately, because some of these other candidates
02:30that we've been talking about, like, have been the only guys, maybe, or the key, key guys producing for their
02:35teams.
02:35But all of a sudden, Aranda and Caminero have become kind of the most fun, you know, duo, I think,
02:41that we could have possibly had here in terms of, like, just unexpected.
02:46I mean, Caminero, you expect, but maybe underrated power and production duos.
02:50Yeah, no, I totally hear you on that. Aranda, Caminero, and Yandy Diaz, too, the season that Yandy Diaz has
02:55put up, have the Tampa Bay Rays firmly in the conversation.
02:59I just realized something. Podcast Pete pointed it out. I was including June 1st. Aranda actually at .374.
03:05There you go. Rough June 1st for Jonathan Aranda. .374 with a .464 OBP. That's tops in the league.
03:14Tough night at the ballpark on Monday for Jonathan Aranda there.
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