MLB Team of the Month: Shohei Ohtani rules baseball in June

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

The month of June has come to a detailed, and which means it’s time for my Team of the Month!

Let’s have a look again at the whole month and establish the finest participant at each place in June.

To begin, in June, Shohei Ohtani put collectively one of the most spectacular months in the historical past of Major League Baseball.

On the offensive aspect, he hit .298 with six dwelling runs, and he set a profession finest with eight RBIs in one sport, making him the first Japanese-born participant to report eight RBIs in a sport.

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The subsequent day, Ohtani began on the mound for the Angels and set a profession excessive by hanging out 13 batters. 

No different participant in historical past has each an eight-RBI sport and a 13-strikeout sport to his title. And Ohtani did that on back-to-back nights. 

On the mound in June, Ohtani was one of the finest pitchers in baseball. He went 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA and completed the month on the longest scoreless innings streak of his profession, which now sits at 21.2 innings.

Ohtani is already a legend, and in my thoughts, he was the finest participant in baseball in the month of June. 

Here’s the relaxation of the crew of the month:

C Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays

Kirk has been an unsung hero for the Blue Jays this 12 months. He hit .341 with seven dwelling runs in June. Kirk deserves to be the beginning catcher for the American League in the All-Star Game. 

1B Josh Bell, Washington Nationals

Bell narrowly edged Paul Goldschmidt this month. They have been each completely unbelievable, however Bell was just a bit bit higher. He hit .358 on the month with seven homers and knocked in 18 runs. 

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2B Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres

Cronenworth batted in 24 runs in the month of June. That’s second-most in the National League. And he hit .315 on the month in addition.

3B Brandon Drury, Cincinnati Reds

Drury hit .333 this month and drilled eight homers for the Reds. At a place full of superstars vying for an MVP award, Drury was the finest of the bunch in June. 

SS Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves

There hasn’t been a shortstop in baseball higher than Swanson over the previous month or so. In June, he hit .330 with seven homers and 19 RBIs. Swanson deserves to start out at shortstop for the National League in the All-Star Game.

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OF Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros

Nobody racked up higher offensive stats in June than Alvarez, who hit .418 with 9 dwelling runs and 28 RBIs. It was an unbelievable month that resulted in him profitable AL Player of the Month.

OF Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves

Harris has been outstanding since his call-up and was named NL Rookie of the Month. He hit .347 with 4 HRs and 16 RBIs in June. 

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OF Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

Schwarber gained NL Player of the Month because of his 12 homers and 27 RBIs. When the calendar turns to June, Kyle Schwarber turns into Babe Ruth. 

SP Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox

What a outstanding month Cease had. He wound up with a 0.33 ERA and struck out 45 batters in 27.1 innings in 5 begins.

RP Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians

Clase was good for the Guardians in June. In 15 appearances, he had 11 saves and 16 strikeouts and didn’t hand over a single run. That’s a 0.00 ERA. Perfect.

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the “Flippin’ Bats” podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University earlier than he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round choose of the Tigers in 2013. He spent 5 years in the Tigers group. Follow him on Twitter @BenVerlander.