Oh, you thought that just because we’re in playoff mode, we’re not going to reflect on the month of September? Please. These are the best and worst players of September, the final month of the 2014 regular season.
AL Best Hitter of the Month: Miguel Cabrera. The defending two-time MVP won’t make it three in a row this year, and he’s not even the most valuable Tigers’ hitter. But in September, he flourished while carrying Detroit to another AL Central title. In 26 games, Cabrera hit .379/.409/.709 with eight homers, 19 runs scored, and 18 RBI. Yeah, he barely walked (just give in 110 plate appearances), but the guy played extraordinarily well. For once, you can’t find faults with his efforts on the field.
Honorable mentions: Jose Bautista, Michael Brantley, Nelson Cruz, Victor Martinez
April winner: Jose Bautista
May winner: Edwin Encarnacion
June winner: Mike Trout
Midseason winner: Mike Trout
July winner: Jose Abreu
August winner: Victor Martinez
AL Worst Hitter of the Month: Austin Jackson. Jackson was supposed to help bolster the Mariners offense down the stretch. He was Seattle’s return in the David Price three-way trade with the Tigers and Rays. And what did Jackson do in the final month of the year? Well, he hit a middling .191/.224/.220 with one double and six stolen base. That’s it. Every damn one of 116 plate appearances in September came out of the leadoff position…and he couldn’t even get on base a quarter of the time. Jeez. Seattle missed a tiebreaker with the A’s by just one game, and the lack of production from Jackson and Kendrys Morales had a huge hand in those struggles.
Dishonorable mentions: Allen Craig, Matt Dominguez, Stephen Drew, Caleb Joseph
April “winner”: Billy Butler
May “winner”: Alejandro de Aza
June “winner”: Shin-Soo Choo
Midseason “winner”: Jose Molina
July “winner”: Gordon Beckham
August “winner”: Xander Bogaerts
NL Best Hitter of the Month: Andrew McCutchen. The reigning NL MVP might not make it two in a row, but you his efforts in September were absurd. He hit .347/.452/.589 with five homers, nearly spurring the Pirates to an NL Central crown. With Starling Marte, Russell Martin, and Neil Walker also hitting the cover off of the ball in the final month of the year, Pittsburgh is in great shape for their playoff run, which they hope will last more than just one game. On an unrelated note: Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp combined for 12 homers in 170 September plate appearances. Remember when those two were non-factors in the Dodgers outfield?
Honorable mentions: Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, Starling Marte, Buster Posey
April winner: Troy Tulowitzki
May winner: Yasiel Puig
June winner: Andrew McCutchen
Midseason winner: Troy Tulowitzki
July winner: Jayson Werth
August winner: Josh Harrison
NL Worst Hitter of the Month: Hunter Pence. Pence got a lot of love this month for his insane motivational speeches as the Giants march into the playoffs, but maybe he should have worried about putting together a solid performance on the field. In 25 games, Pence hit .165/.240/.231 with just two homers and two stolen bases. Pence also didn’t double at all, and grounded into five double plays over the month. So while the Giants had a few heroes in the season’s final month, let’s pump the brakes a little bit on giving Pence a truckload of love for his efforts.
Dishonorable mentions: Javier Baez, Billy Hamilton, Miguel Montero, Justin Upton
April “winner”: Danny Espinosa
May “winner”: Yonder Alonso
June “winner”: Everth Cabrera
Midseason “winner”: Jedd Gyorko
July “winner”: Adam LaRoche
August “winner”: Curtis Granderson
AL Best Pitcher of the Month: Carlos Carrasco. SWERVE! Corey Kluber is only an honorable mention to his teammate this month, because Carlos Carrasco was just awesome. He threw 44 1/3 innings over six starts, pitching to a 1.62 ERA, striking out a whopping 54, and walking just eight. I don’t think anyone really expected this from Carrasco coming into the year, and his success is setting Cleveland up for a very interesting 2015.
Honorable mentions: Derek Holland, Corey Kluber, Michael Pineda, James Shields
April winner: Felix Hernandez
May winner: Corey Kluber
July winner: Felix Hernandez
Midseason winner: Felix Hernandez
July winner: Corey Kluber
August winner: Matt Shoemaker
AL Worst Pitcher of the Month: Chris Young. Yeah, it’s a little mean to rag on Chris Young, given that he didn’t pitch in the majors at all last season. But he was *not* good down the stretch for the Mariners, despite 14 strikeouts. He threw just 14 2/3 innings over four starts, pitching to an unsightly 8.59 ERA while walking eight and allowing seven long balls. That is…yeah, that’s not good in the slightest.
Dishonorable mentions: Jeremy Hellickson, Anthony Ranaudo, Esmil Rogers, Hector Santiago
April “winner”: Ubaldo Jimenez
May “winner”: Brandon Maurer
June “winner”: Joe Saunders
Midseason “winner” Ricky Nolasco
July “winner”: Jason Hammel
August “winner”: Trevor May
NL Best Pitcher of the Month: Clayton Kershaw. What a way to top off a Cy Young and potential MVP season: a 5-0, 1.95 ERA, 37 inning, 45 strikeout, eight walk September. In the year of the pitcher, none has shined brighter than Kershaw, though there were a few that tried their damnedest to unseat him this month.
Honorable mentions: Jake Arrieta, Jacob deGrom, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann
April winner: Jose Fernandez
May winner: Jeff Samardzija
June winner: Clayton Kershaw
Midseason winner: Clayton Kershaw
July winner: Clayton Kershaw
August winner: Madison Bumgarner
NL Worst Pitcher of the Month: Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez probably isn’t going to be much of a factor in the playoffs for the Dodgers, but if he is, I can’t be very confident about their chances of success. In five starts, Hernandez threw just 20 2/3 innings, pitching to a 6.10 ERA, striking out 15, walking ten, and somehow allowing eight home runs. That’s just dire – the Dodgers really can do better than this, can’t they?
Dishonorable mentions: Tim Hudson, Mike Leake, Brad Penny, Ryan Vogelsong
April “winner”: Bronson Arroyo
May “winner”: Franklin Morales
June “winner”: Juan Nicasio
Midseason “winner”: Marco Estrada
July “winner”: Mike Minor
August “winner”: Kyle Lohse
AL Best Rookie of the Month: Collin McHugh. McHugh has been a revelation for the Astros this year. In September, he went 4-0 in his four starts while tossing 28 1/3 innings. As impressive as his 1.59 ERA was, McHugh struck out 25 hitters over the month and walked only one, along with giving up only 15 hits. That’s just gross. It’s tough to score runs if you can’t put anyone on base, and teams just couldn’t do that against McHugh in September.
Honorable mentions: Jose Abreu, Dellin Betances, Mookie Betts, T.J. House
April winner: Jose Abreu
May winner: George Springer
June winner: Jose Abreu
Midseason winner: Jose Abreu
July winner: Jose Abreu
August winner: Jose Abreu
NL Best Rookie of the Month: Jacob deGrom. deGrom seemingly sealed up his 2014 NL Rookie of the Year award with a brilliant September. He only made four starts, but tossed 27 innings, pitching to a 1.67 ERA, striking out 38, and walking just six. After deGrom got shelled by the Dodgers in his first start back from the DL in August, he was dominant in his final five appearances for the Mets. That should be enough for him to bring home the bacon.
Honorable mentions: Travis d’Arnaud, Ken Giles, Randal Grichuk, Tyler Matzek
April winner: Chris Owings
May winner: Kolten Wong
June winner: Billy Hamilton
Midseason winner: Billy Hamilton
July winner: Jacob deGrom
August winner: Joe Panik
