The bearded wonder patrolling the outfield gaps at Coors Field is no longer a Rocky Mountain secret. Charlie Blackmon has become one of the best players in all of baseball.
On Friday, Blackmon was awarded for this recent ascension, earning National League Player of the Month honors for what was a dazzling May. He ranked first among all NL batters in hits (42) and triples (five) last month, while placing second in average (.359), fourth in runs (24) and tied for fifth in RBIs (22). His 1.037 OPS was tied for seventh.
• VOTE NOW for #ASGWorthy Rockies
Perhaps most importantly, Blackmon spearheaded a Rockies lineup that led first-place Colorado to an 18-12 record in May. He recorded 14 multihit games last month and finished it atop the MLB leaderboard for RBIs -- an incredible feat for a leadoff hitter.

In total, Blackmon leads the NL in hits (73), triples (eight), RBIs (47) and total bases (139), while placing within the top 10 in runs, average and slugging.
• NL Player of the Month Award winners
Blackmon is the first Rockies player to win Player of the Month honors this season, and he's the first since Nolan Arenado in September 2015. It is the first such honor of Blackmon's career.