Two months are done in the 6-month grind that is the baseball season. Getting hot at the right time is critical at this time of year. Getting All-Star votes and nods can kick in some incentives. These top players of May are doing just that. The dog days of summer are slowly coming on and these players are turning up the heat.
Luis Robert Jr. Lights up the Southside
The Chicago White Sox, as a whole, haven’t had very much to cheer about this season. The team has underperformed in the incredibly weak American League Central. One of the few bright spots has been the play of Luis Robert Jr. After being benched for not running out a ball, he has become a totally different player following that unpleasant incident.
In May alone, he had an OPS of 1.004 and 8 home runs. For the season, he has 13 home runs. More than half came in the last 30 days. The guy is playing on another level. He has hit safely in 14 of 17 contests in May, and he’s up to a .266/.322/.550 slash line.
Things could be turning around on the southside. Robert is getting hot and Liam Hendricks has returned to the bullpen after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. If Robert can continue to build upon a great May, watch out. The only thing that might be in their way could be the number of games left. If things continue to implode, at least fans have Luis Robert.
Felix Bautista Shuts It Down
The upstart Orioles have found magic in the backend of their bullpen. The anchor of that is the mountain of a man, closer Felix Bautista. He stands at a gigantic 6’8 and can sling his fastball at over 100 mph. He got called up last year and took over the closing duties after they traded Jorge Lopez to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline. The Baltimore Orioles haven’t looked back since.
Bautista’s numbers in May were eye-popping. He highlighted the month by leading all MLB relievers with a 19.58K/9. He also had 7 saves, a 1.35 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP. The man is on another level with his stats. In a short time, he has become the top closer in the game. He has 15 saves on the season and shows no signs of stopping.
Baltimore has been on the radar as a team that would make some noise soon. Bautista has been a part of that. Having the ability to hand it off to a sure thing in the 9th is huge for a team that wants to make a run deep into October. Bautista and Yennier Cano have all the ability in the world to shut down any team. Especially when two different pitchers become players of the month in back-to-back months.
All Rise Aaron Judge Is Back
Aaron Judge is a force in the Yankees lineup. Unfortunately, he will miss some time with a toe injury. He followed up the record-setting MVP season with more enormous numbers. Until he was injured, he was on last year’s home run pace. Judge was once again playing on another level that few players can reach.
He led all of baseball in home runs (12), ISO (.539), and wRC+ (253). Besides those numbers, he also hit .342 and had 25 RBI. This effort put the Yankees back into the thick of the AL East race. They currently sit 7.5 games back of the Rays and 2.5 back of the jump-start Orioles. A healthy Aaron Judge is sure to keep the Yankees in contention in the tough AL East.
May is an exciting month for baseball. The teams figure out who they are, and races begin to take shape. The players listed above elevated their play and teams going into the summer months. As the temperatures rise across the country, so does the play in baseball. May play leads to All-Star votes in June and exciting All-Star festivities. Baseball is going to be getting fun real soon.
Photo Credit: © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned:
Luis Robert Jr., Liam Hendricks, Felix Bautista, Jorge Lopez, Yennier Cano, Aaron Judge
