Players and Pitchers of the Month for September were announced on Monday. Outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees was named the American League Player of the Month, while National League honors went to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder J. D. Martinez.
Pitchers of the Month went to familiar names for any baseball fan. Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians won in the American League, while the National League winner was Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals.
Aaron Judge
The judge was also named American League Rookie of the Month for the fourth time this season.
He also won American League Player of the Month honors in June.
He played in 27 games in the month of September with the Yankees going 19-8. In 121 plate appearances, the 25-year-old batted .311 with a .463 on-base percentage. Judge also had a slugging percentage of .889 as he hit 15 home runs and seven doubles. He finished with 32 RBIs for the month, 29 runs, and two stolen bases.
J. D. Martinez
Martinez has been extraordinary for the Diamondbacks since he was acquired via trade from the Detroit Tigers on July 18. This is his first time winning Player of the Month, a month where he also earned Player of the Week honors two straight weeks.
The 30-year-old appeared in 25 games in September (including October 1) and the Diamondbacks went 15-10.
Martinez's superb month saw him bat .396 with a .950 slugging percentage. In 109 plate appearances, he had 16 home runs, eight doubles, 36 RBIs, 26 runs, and one stolen base.
Corey Kluber
Kluber led the American League in ERA and WHIP this season, was tied for the league lead in wins, and was only behind Chris Sale in strikeouts.
The 2014 American Cy Young Winner has now been named Pitcher of the Month three times in the last four months and five times in his career.
The 31-year-old made six starts in September and went 5-0. In 43 innings, Kluber allowed 31 hits and only three walks. He allowed just four earned runs giving him an ERA of 0.84. He struck out 50 in the month with at least seven strikeouts in five of the six starts.
Stephen Strasburg
Strasburg put together what many would call his best season in 2017, as he finished third in the National League in ERA and WHIP and seventh in strikeouts. This is the third time of his career that he has been named Pitcher of the Month.
The 29-year-old went 4-0 in five September starts. Strasburg finished the month with a 0.83 ERA, as he only gave up three earned runs in 32.2 innings. He allowed 19 hits and struck out 40 compared to just seven walks.
