CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals named National League Player of the Month for July; Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros named American League Player of the Month for July

All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals has been unanimously voted the National League Player of the Month for July, and All-Star designated hitter/left fielder Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros has been voted the American League Player of the Month for July. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Abrams earned his first career honor and is the first Nationals player to win since his outfield teammate Daylen Lile last September. He is the first Nationals infielder to win the award since Ryan Zimmerman in April 2017. Alvarez won his fourth career award and second of the season after winning the award in March/April. He has now won each of the Astros’ last three monthly honors and four of the club’s last five recognitions after also garnering honors in June 2022 and September/October 2023. Alvarez is the 13th internationally born player with at least four career Player of the Month Awards, matching Rafael Palmeiro for the most by a Cuban-born player.

CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals (@cj__abrams)
The 25-year-old hit .348 (31-for-89) with 10 homers, 23 RBI, five doubles, 11 walks, 17 runs scored, six stolen bases, a .742 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage across 23 contests.

The Alpharetta, Georgia native led the Majors in home runs, slugging and total bases (66); ranked second in OPS (1.150); ranked third in RBI; tied for third in extra-base hits (15); ranked sixth in batting average; and ranked ninth in on-base percentage.

The two-time All-Star became the fifth player (10th occurrence) in Nationals’ history (2005-present) with at least 30 hits and 10 home runs in a single month and the first since Juan Soto had 33 hits and 11 homers in August 2020. He is the third player (fourth occurrence) in Nationals/Expos history to have at least five stolen bases to go along with his hit and homer totals, joining Alfonso Soriano who reached 30+ hits, 10+ homers and had at least five stolen bases in May 2006 (33 H, 12 HR, 7 SB) and August 2006 (34 H, 11 HR, 7 SB), and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero in July 2001 (36 H, 10 HR, 7 SB).

The starting shortstop for the National League at the 96th Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia hit a pair of home runs on July 21st at Colorado and July 26th against Arizona, marking his third and fourth career multi-homer games. He now has 28 homers on the year, which are eighth-most in the Majors, and with his first home run on July 26th he surpassed Ian Desmond (25 HR in 2012) for the most home runs as a shortstop in a single season in Nationals/Expos history. Since his debut in 2022, his 87 home runs as a shortstop are seventh-most in the Majors.

The sixth overall pick of the 2019 Draft was named NL Player of the Week last Monday after he tallied multiple hits in five consecutive games, turning the trick for the second time in his career. He racked up four hits on July 22nd at Colorado, marking his fifth career four-hit game and first since April 29th of last season. His 149 multi-hit games are the fifth-most by a player before their 26th birthday in Nationals’ history (2005-present), trailing only Bryce Harper (249); Zimmerman (228); Luis García Jr. (171); and Soto (150).

Abrams hit safely in 15 of his 16 contests between July 5th-26th, slashing .431/.452/.923 with 28 hits, 22 RBI and a 1.375 OPS during the stretch. He is just the fourth player in Nationals/Expos history with at least 28 hits and 22 RBI across a 16-game span, joining Zimmerman (April 2017); Guerrero (3x: July-August 1998, June 2001 & April 2002); and Moisés Alou (May-June 1994). Abrams joined Guerrero as the only players with multiple stolen bases during the span.

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros (@yordan4342)
The 29-year-old hit .360 (31-for-86) with nine homers, 22 RBI, four doubles, 17 walks, 15 runs scored, a .721 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage in 23 games.

The Las Tunas, Cuba native led the Majors in OPS (1.188); ranked second in on-base percentage, slugging and total bases (62); tied for second in homers; tied for fourth in RBI and walks; and ranked fifth in batting average.

The four-time All-Star registered at least 30 hits, 20 RBI and 10 extra-base hits in a single month for the third time this season (also: April & June), becoming the fourth player (ninth occurrence) in franchise history to reach those marks for three separate months in a single season, joining Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (4x: 1994-96 & 1998); Lance Berkman (3x: 2001, 2004 & 2006); and Derek Bell (1998).

The starting designated hitter for the American League at the 96th Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia had a 10-game hitting streak from July 10th-24th, batting .486 (18-for-37) with five homers, 10 RBI and a 1.578 OPS during the stretch. It marked his fifth career hitting streak of at least 10 games and his longest since matching a career best with a 13-game hitting streak in April. Overall, he has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games since July 10th with just 11 strikeouts in 83 plate appearances during the stretch.

The 2019 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year capped off a two-homer, six-RBI performance on July 4th with a two-run walk-off homer, becoming the first player in Baseball history with multiple walk-off home runs on Fourth of July (also: 2022). The Astros have now won each of their last nine Fourth of July games since 2016, tied for the third-longest winning streak all-time with the 1901-05 Pittsburgh Pirates, trailing only the 1934-41 Chicago White Sox (14 G) and 1916-23 Cleveland Indians (13 G), per Elias. It marked Alvarez’s fifth career game with at least six RBI and second this season, joining June 12th at Kansas City.

The 2022 Silver Slugger also hit multiple homers on July 20th and paces the Majors with 35 longballs on the campaign. He is bidding to be the first Astros player to lead the Majors in home runs for a single season, and also the first Astros player to win a batting Triple Crown. Alvarez slugged his 200th career longball on July 10th and his 205 career home runs are sixth-most in franchise history, trailing Bagwell (449 HR); Berkman (326 HR); Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (291 HR); Jose Altuve (267 HR); and Jim Wynn (223 HR). He is currently on pace for 50 home runs this year, seeking to break Biggio’s club record of 47 homers in 2000.

Additionally, it would mark the first 50-homer season by a Cuban-born player, surpassing the current record of 49 blasts by Jorge Soler in 2019 with Kansas City.

Abrams was the only player to receive votes for NL Player of the Month, becoming the first player to win in unanimous fashion since Cal Raleigh in September of last season and the first NL player to do since Shohei Ohtani in September 2024.

Others receiving votes for AL Player of the Month included All-Star outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela (.303, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 9 2B, 3 BB, 17 R, 5 SB, .523 SLG) and All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras (.323, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 4 2B, 15 BB, 14 R, 1 SB, .629 SLG, .488 OBP) of the Boston Red Sox; outfielder Steven Kwan (.390, 6 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 13 BB, 10 R, 5 SB, .506 SLG, .473 OBP) of the Cleveland Guardians; and outfielder Chandler Simpson (.365, 4 RBI, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB, 12 R, 8 SB, .459 SLG) of the Tampa Bay Rays.