American League Players of the Month: July 2025

We’ve made it through the month of July, folks, and what a month it was. July is and always will be one of MLB’s biggest months of the year, as you’ve got the All-Star Game and all of its festivities and the trade deadline.

As is always the case, neither of these big-ticket events disappointed. The Midsummer Classic ended in epic fashion and the trade deadline featured so much action our heads are still spinning from it. What more could you ask for?

As part of a series Just Baseball has put out every month over the past few years, we’re taking a look at the best hitters and pitchers in each league throughout the month of July. Now that we’re officially in August, July’s stats are finalized and we’re ready to dig in to the epic month that was.

Here’s a look at the top performers over in the National League, and below you’ll find the standout performers from the American League. From rookie standouts having historical performances to aging veterans looking a lot like their younger selves this past month, we’ve got a little bit of everything here.

Let’s dive in.

AL Hitters of the Month

Gold Medal Hitter of the Month: Nick Kurtz, ATH

July Stats: 101 PA, 11 HR, 24 R, 27 RBI, .395/.480/.953, 2 SB, 281 wRC+, 2.4 fWAR

For the longest time, it seemed that Kurtz’s teammate on the A’s, Jacob Wilson, was going to be the runaway Rookie of the Year winner this season. Thanks to a quietly strong start to his career and a jaw-dropping month of July, it sounds like that’s no longer the case.

Kurtz put together one of the greatest single-game performances in MLB history, hitting four home runs in a single game against the Astros, and was the very best hitter in all of baseball this past month.

In most major categories, Kurtz was first or second on the leaderboards. He topped the league in home runs, batting average OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC+, and fWAR. He also had the second-most runs scored, RBI, and base hits. No matter which way you slice it, he was not only the best hitter in the AL, but in all of baseball. The fact that he’s a rookie only makes it all more impressive.

With 71 games and 293 plate appearances under his belt, Kurtz still doesn’t even qualify for league-wide leaderboards. Yet, this showing in the month of July shot him straight to the top of the Rookie of the Year race. Tip of the cap to him for this outstanding performance.

Silver Medal Hitter of the Month: George Springer, TOR

July Stats: 102 PA, 7 HR, 24 R, 17 RBI, .371/.451/.640, 3 SB, 204 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR

Just look at the fWAR totals between Kurtz (first in the AL) and Springer (tied for fourth in the AL) and you’ll further appreciate the month the former just put together. The latter, however, is 35 years old and not so long ago was starting to show that.

A simple change in mindset ahead of the 2025 campaign proved to be the difference maker for Springer. Now that he is swinging harder and aiming to hit the ball over the fence more rather than just “simply getting on base so Vladdy can drive me in,” the numbers have improved all across the board.

This past month, Springer was tied for second in the AL in runs scored while being in sole possession of second place in AVG and wRC+. His 33 base hits were also tied for third-most in the AL behind only Kurtz and teammate Bo Bichette. After Springer’s multi-season decline, it seemed that this year was going to be a further step in the wrong direction, but he has continued to outperform expectations.

Even though he’s currently on the concussion IL, he should be back in short order and continue to be a crucial piece to this Blue Jays offense. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: unc’s still got it.

Bronze Medal Hitter of the Month: Salvador Perez, KCR

July Stats: 96 PA, 9 HR, 14 R, 21 RBI, .337/.379/.719, 0 SB, 196 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR

If you can find a way to get past the fact that Salvy didn’t steal a single base this past month, you’ll see that he was one of the AL’s very best hitters. Truth be told, he flew under the radar in July. He looked a lot like his old self but didn’t warrant much attention for it.

Perez has been mired in a long cold streak basically all year long to this point, but his month of July was a significant step in the right direction.

Perez, 35, was second in the AL in SLG and OPS (1.098) this past month, while also third in ISO and wRC+, tied for third in RBI, sixth in AVG, tied for seventh in hits, and 13th in OBP. Similarly to Springer, he’s shown his age a bit in the not-so-distant past, so to see him show up and look like one of the game’s best hitters again, even if it’s just for a month-long stretch, means he’s earned a spot on this podium.

Just Missed the Podium: Jarren Duran, BOS

July Stats: 95 PA, 5 HR, 16 R, 21 RBI, .317/.411/.683, 3 SB, 193 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR

The gap between Duran and Perez is very, very slim, but we had to give it to one of the most prolific catchers of his generation. That doesn’t mean Duran doesn’t deserve a bit of love, though, because he was electric.

Duran beat Perez in the fWAR department by 0.2 wins and his wRC+ was only three points behind the burly backstop. The 28-year-old walked nearly 13% of the time in July while finishing third in SLG and OPS, tied for third in RBI, fourth in wRC+, fifth in the AL in ISO, and seventh in OBP.

AL Pitchers of the Month

Gold Medal Pitcher of the Month: Nathan Eovaldi, TEX

July Stats: 5-0 (5 GS), 0.59 ERA, 30.2 IP, 30 K, 8 BB, 1.0 fWAR

Somehow not an All-Star, Eovaldi has been money for the Rangers this year. In fact, he’s been one of the best starters in baseball all season long, so it’s time he gets some of the attention he deserves.

The right-hander made five starts this past month, with none of them being any less than five innings. He also didn’t allow more than a single earned run in any of the outings, while striking out six-plus batters in three of them.

A total of two earned runs over the course of an entire month is crazy business. There was no real competition to Eovaldi, who was far and away the best pitcher in the AL in July. He finished the month with the AL’s lowest ERA while also being tied for seventh in strikeouts (especially impressive seeing as how he’s not a high-strikeout arm) and innings pitched.

Silver Medal Pitcher of the Month: Luis Castillo, SEA

July Stats: 4-1 (5 GS), 2.05 ERA, 30.2 IP, 32 K, 4 BB, 1.4 fWAR

At 32 years of age, Castillo has continued to roll as his career goes on. The right-hander is still criminally underrated but he’s also still one of the game’s premier pitching talents. His performance this past month underscores that.

Castillo had the AL’s lowest FIP (1.70) while having the third-best BB/9 and going the entire month without allowing a single home run. In case you need me to say it, that’s also good for the AL’s best HR/9, as no other qualifying starter went the whole month homer-less.

Castillo isn’t the big-time strikeout artist that he used to be when he was the Reds, but he struck out six or more batters in four of his five outings this past month while having an eight-strikeout showing against the Pirates and two seven-strikeout starts against the Brewers and Astros, two of baseball’s best offenses.

There were many standout performances from AL starters in July, but Castillo having the lowest FIP and zero home runs on his stat line gives him an edge over the others not named Eovaldi.

Bronze Medal Pitcher of the Month: Noah Cameron, KCR

July Stats: 3-0 (5 GS), 1.84 ERA, 29.1 IP, 33 K, 5 BB, 0.9 fWAR

Ever since he made his first start at the end of April, Cameron has been one of the more pleasant surprises in baseball this year. The left-hander was a promising prospect while coming up through the Royals’ minor league ranks, but he’s been even better than anticipated at the big-league level.

Through the month of July, Cameron had one of his best months. He was second in the AL in strand rate, fourth in ERA, tied for fourth in strikeouts, fifth in BB/9, tied for sixth in K/9, and ninth in FIP. There’s not a whole lot to his game that screams “superstar,” but he’s done nothing but shove ever since he broke into the league.

What makes Cameron’s performance in July even more impressive is the fact that he’s a rookie. Seeing someone like Eovaldi or Castillo dominate over the course of a month is not exactly a surprise anymore. Watching a pitcher with 14 career starts do it makes for a much better story, so he’s able to make the podium this month.

Just Missed the Podium: Garrett Crochet, BOS

July Stats: 4-0 (4 GS), 1.73 ERA, 26.0 IP, 31 K, 6 BB, 0.9 fWAR

Crochet would’ve earned a spot on the podium if he had made one more start, but it’s easier to give the nod to pitchers who made all five scheduled starts in any given month.

On the season as a whole, Crochet leads the AL in innings pitched, which is wild given that he hasn’t even been a full-time starter for very long. The fact that his arm is holding up the way it is is very impressive. He’s an electric, high-strikeout arm that was one of baseball’s best arms this past month, just as he was in each of the previous few months.

Crochet’s 10.73 K/9 was tied for seventh-best in the AL in July, while he was third in strand rate and ERA, fourth in FIP, tied for ninth in HR/9, and 11th in BB/9. Even though he made one less start than the podium finishers, he was still tied for sixth in the AL in strikeouts, so if he would’ve been able to rattle off another one of those 10-strikeout games like he did in his final start of the month against the Dodgers, he would’ve led the AL in punchouts.

Don’t be surprised if you see him on the podium next month.