American League Players of the Month: June 2024
The Just Baseball staff determines the AL Players of the Month for June and hands out gold, silver, and bronze medals to the best performers.
Here at Just Baseball, our editorial staff has selected Players of the Month in each of the first three months of the 2024 regular season.
While we didn’t have any repeat podium finishes from the months of April and May, the month of June will finally have some faces we’ve seen before. This includes both pitchers and position players. As we near the halfway point of the season, a lot of these performances are beginning to look like normal for these standout players, and we’re no longer talking about potential flukes.
As we enter the fourth full month of the 2024 regular season, things are beginning to take shape around the league. Teams are inching closer to identifying their respective trade deadline stances and we’re nearing the most exciting time of the season.
In the standings, the Guardians and Mariners are atop their divisions. The Guardians have been a pleasant surprise this year, and they currently boast the AL’s best winning percentage. In the East, the Orioles and Yankees – the only team to feature on all three of our podiums so far – are locked in a tie for first place, a whole 8.5 games above the rest of the field.
Let’s dive in.
AL Hitters of the Month
Gold Medal Hitter of the Month: Aaron Judge, NYY
June stats: 107 PA, 11 HR, 25 R, 37 RBI, .409/.514/.864, 3 SB, 2.5 fWAR
At this rate, there’s no doubt that Judge will be this year’s AL MVP. He is swinging the bat at a record-breaking pace and is once again our Gold Medal Hitter of the Month. Judge finished first in the game in RBI, batting average, wOBA, wRC+ and fWAR. He’s currently on pace to break his own AL home run record (62, 2022) and has just been in a league of his own. This won’t be the last time you see him crack a players of the month list.
Silver Medal Hitter of the Month: Gunnar Henderson, BAL
June stats: 132 PA, 8 HR, 31 R, 17 RBI, .342/.432/.649, 6 SB, 2.5 fWAR
Judge should win the MVP but Henderson is going to try his hardest to change that. The sophomore phenom is leading the majors in runs scored at this point and is one of just four players (Judge, Harper, Abrams) to have a wRC+ over 200 in the month of June.
Bronze Medal Hitter of the Month: Steven Kwan, CLE
June stats: 102 PA, 4 HR, 19 R, 12 RBI, .374/.436/.582, 1 SB, 1.6 fWAR
Kwan was on an early campaign for a .400 average this year but he’s slowed down just a little bit. Now he’s only hitting .368, good for best in the league. Beyond that, the 26-year-old is second in baseball (min. 100 PA) in K%, fourth in OBP and fifth in both wOBA and wRC+. He’s a slap hitter who gets on base in every way possible and should be easily making his first All-Star Game this year.
Just Missed the Podium: Yordan Alvarez, HOU
June stats: 100 PA, 7 HR, 20 R, 19 RBI, .349/.430/.709, 1 SB, 1.4 fWAR
Alvarez continues to be one of the most prolific power hitters in the game and is a crucial cog on a surging Astros club. Houston is 9-1 over their last 10, mostly in part to Alvarez posting a 1.023 OPS in that time. The burly slugger had the fifth-lowest K% in the league in June, alongside the third-highest SLG and fourth-highest wOBA.
AL Pitchers of the Month
Gold Medal Pitcher of the Month: Hunter Brown, HOU
June stats: 4-0 (5 GS), 1.16 ERA, 31.0 IP, 36 K, 8 BB, 0.9 fWAR
Brown has not had a strong season as a whole so far. Through 16 outings (15 starts), the 25-year-old has a 4.37 ERA and an ERA+ of just 91. That’s obviously nothing to write home about, but his month of June was astounding. In five starts, he posted the lowest ERA in baseball with a sub-3.00 FIP and K/9 over 10.0 as well. Somehow, his LOB% on the month was 100%.
It remains to be seen how this pace will be maintained, but he was solid as a rock in June, earning him his first podium finish of the year.
Silver Medal of the Month: Garrett Crochet, CHW
June stats: 1-1 (6 GS), 1.91 ERA, 37.2 IP, 56 K, 6 BB, 2.0 fWAR
Crochet, last month’s Bronze Medal pitcher, continues to be one of baseball’s best surprises. The left-hander had a sparkling 1.17 FIP in the month of June and the highest fWAR and K/9 amongst pitchers, too. There truly is not a wrong answer between Crochet or Brown to be the top AL pitcher of the month in June. At this rate, Crochet is well on his way to an All-Star selection in what is his first year as a starting pitcher.
Bronze Medal Pitcher of the Month: Logan Gilbert, SEA
June stats: 2-1 (5 GS), 1.51 ERA, 35.2 IP, 31 K, 1 BB, 1.1 fWAR
Want to hear a wild Logan Gilbert stat? In just under 36 innings, he walked just one batter in June. This is even lower than teammate George Kirby‘s, who is known to be anti-walk. Gilbert is in the midst of an excellent season, as he leads the majors in WHIP and is currently sporting the best ERA and ERA+ of his career.
Just Missed the Podium: George Kirby, SEA
June stats: 3-0 (5 GS), 1.74 ERA, 31.0 IP, 31 K, 3 BB, 1.1 fWAR
Speaking of Kirby, he just narrowly missed out on the podium. Seriously, the gap between him and Gilbert is about as thick as a hair. Kirby, 26, has led the majors in SO/W in each of the past two years and is known as one of the best command pitchers in baseball. His HR/9 ranked fourth in the AL in June while his FIP was good for second, only behind Crochet.
Written by
Eric Treuden (troy-din) has covered baseball for years for multiple different outlets including FanSided.com's news desk, Yardbarker, Wisconsin Sports Heroics, Reviewing the Brew and Call to…