Joey Cantillo of the Cleveland Guardians named the American League Rookie of the Month for September; Daylen Lile of the Washington Nationals named the National League Rookie of the Month for September

Starting pitcher Joey Cantillo of the Cleveland Guardians has been voted the American League Rookie of the Month for September, and outfielder Daylen Lile of the Washington Nationals has been voted the National League Rookie of the Month for September. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Cantillo is Cleveland’s eighth rookie to win the award (10th occurrence), joining teammate Steven Kwan (2x: April & September/October 2022); Tyler Naquin (2x: June & July 2016); Franciso Lindor (September 2015); Scott Lewis (September 2008); Aaron Laffey (May 2008); Ryan Drease (May 2002); and Hall of Famer CC Sabathia (July 2001). He is the second pitcher to earn the award this season, joining Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who won in June. Lile is the fifth player in Nationals’ history (2005-present) to win the award, joining Ryan Church (May 2005); Bryce Harper (May & September 2012); Trea Turner (August & September 2016); and Juan Soto (June, July & September 2018). Overall, it is the 11th honor in franchise history, adding honors for Endy Chavez (September 2002) and Terrmel Sledge (May 2004) as members of the Montreal Expos.

Along with being named NL Player of the Month for September, Lile is the 11th player (13th occurrence) to win both awards in the same calendar month, joining Nick Kurtz (July 2025); Wyatt Langford (September 2024); Aristides Aquino (August 2019); Aaron Judge (June and September 2017); Gary Sánchez (August 2016); José Abreu (April and July 2014); Yasiel Puig (June 2013); Mike Trout (July 2012); Buster Posey (July 2010); and Ryan Braun (July 2007). Among the group, Judge, Sánchez, Abreu, Trout, Posey and Braun were each named Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year for their respective league.

Joey Cantillo, Cleveland Guardians (@joeyycantillo)

Over six starts, the 25-year-old went unbeaten with a 2-0 record and a 1.55 ERA (5 ER/29.0 IP) while allowing 20 hits with six walks, 28 strikeouts, a 0.90 WHIP, a .189 opponents’ batting average and 8.69 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.

The Honolulu, Hawaii native ranked third among qualified rookie pitchers in ERA; ranked fourth in innings pitched and WHIP; ranked seventh in opponents’ batting average; tied for seventh in wins; and tied for 10th in strikeouts.

The 16th-round selection in the 2017 Draft (by SD) picked up wins in each of his first two starts in the month, dealing 6.0 innings of one-run ball on September 3rd at Boston and 8.0 scoreless frames on

September 9th against Kansas City. He became the first Guardians pitcher under the age of 26 with a scoreless start of at least 8.0 innings since Triston McKenzie in August 2022.

The southpaw became Cleveland’s first rookie to make at least five starts in a month and have a sub-1.60 ERA since Cody Anderson in September 2015 (1.38 ERA). Cantillo allowed one-or-zero runs in six consecutive starts from August 9th-September 21st, marking the longest such streak by a Guardians starter since Carlos Carrasco from August 10-September 7, 2014.

Cantillo, who helped the Guardians on an improbable September comeback to win the AL Central, took the ball in Cleveland’s Postseason-clinching game, striking out eight batters in 5.2 innings on September 27th. His eight strikeouts were the third-most in his career, trailing a 10-strikeout game on September 24, 2024 and a nine-strikeout start this year on August 3rd against Minnesota.

Daylen Lile, Washington Nationals (@_daylen_lile)

The 22-year-old hit .391 (36-for-92) with six homers, 19 RBI, three doubles, seven triples, eight walks, 20 runs scored, a stolen base, a .772 slugging percentage and a .440 on-base percentage in 25 games.

The Louisville, Kentucky native led the Majors in slugging, hits (36), triples and total bases (71); ranked second in batting average and OPS (1.212); ranked third in on-base percentage; tied for third in extrabase hits; tied for fifth in RBI; and tied for eighth in runs scored.

The second-round selection in the 2021 Draft tallied a hit in each of his first 10 games of the month and recorded a hit in 21 of his 25 contests, also tallying a hit in seven consecutive games from September 19th-27th. He recorded two hits in five consecutive games from September 2nd-7th, becoming the fifth player in Nationals/Expos history under the age of 23 with multiple hits in five straight games and the first since his teammate CJ Abrams from July 8th-16th, 2023.

The speedster’s seven triples were the most in a single month in Nationals/Expos franchise history, and the most in the Majors since José Reyes also had seven for the Mets in June 2011. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Lile is the sixth player in the last 120 seasons with at least six homers and at least seven triples in a single month and the first since Hall of Famer Willie Mays in June 1957. His 11 triples are the most by a rookie since Eddie Rosario had 15 three-baggers for Minnesota in 2015 and he is the first rookie in franchise history with more than 10 triples in a season.

Lile reached base safely in a career-best 16 consecutive games from August 31st through the first game of a doubleheader on September 16th, hitting .433/.493/.817/1.309 during the stretch. Along with his 15-game on-base streak from June 21st-July 10th, he became the first Nationals player under the age of 23 with multiple on-base streaks of at least 15 games since Juan Soto in 2021.

Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included shortstop Colson Montgomery (.267, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 4 2B, 13 BB, 17 R, .511 SLG) of the Chicago White Sox; first baseman Coby Mayo (.301, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 9 BB, 10 R, 2 SB, .548 SLG) of the Baltimore Orioles; outfielder Jake Mangum (.341, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 4 BB, 4 R, 7 SB) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Cantillo’s rotationmate, Parker Messick (2-1, 3.81 ERA, 5 GS, 26.0 IP, 35 H, 5 BB, 26 SO).

Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included infielder Sal Stewart (.255, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 11 R, .545 SLG) of the Cincinnati Reds; starting pitcher Nolan McLean (2-1, 2.93 ERA, 5 G, 27.2 IP, 24 H, 12 BB, 36 SO) of the New York Mets; reliever Cade Gibson (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 12 G, 13.1 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 11 SO) of the Miami Marlins; and first baseman Blaine Crim (.241, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 9 R, .556 SLG) of the Colorado Rockies.