Miguel Sano of the Minnesota Twins named the American League Rookie of the Month for August

Minnesota Twins third baseman/designated hitter Miguel Sano has been named American League Rookie of the Month for August.

Sano batted .278 (27-for-97) with 18 runs scored, seven doubles, nine home runs and 26 RBI over 27 games to claim his first AL monthly award. He is the first Twins player to win AL Rookie of the Month honors since outfielder Ben Revere in June 2011. Among qualified AL rookies, Miguel finished first in runs scored, home runs, RBI and walks (16), second in slugging percentage (.629) and tied for third in doubles.

On August 12 against the Texas Rangers at Target Field, the 22-year-old rookie went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, two home runs and six RBI in an 11-1 victory. It was the first multi-homer game of his career and his six-RBI performance tied a Twins single-game rookie record set by Tony Oliva in 1964 and Oswaldo Arcia in 2013. The right-handed slugger homered in six of his final 12 games in August, recording back-to-back home run games from August 17th - 18th and August 23rd - 25th. Additionally, the Dominican Republic native is batting .337 (28-for-83) at home and has hit safely in 20 of 25 games. Led by the rookie's hot bat, the Twins have won nine of their last 11 games and are currently 1.0 game behind the Texas Rangers for the second AL Wild Card spot. During this 11-game stretch, Sano batted .333 (13-for-39) with five home runs and 12 RBI. Entering play today and among AL rookies, Sano currently leads the way in on-base percentage (.403) and slugging percentage (.608), and is third in home runs (14), RBI (41) and walks (33) over 50 games. Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees (.673 in 1937) and Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia Athletics (.637 in 1930) are the only right-handed hitters in MLB history with a higher slugging percentage during their age-22 season. With 14 home runs through 50 games this season, Sano's 12.57 at-bats per home run ratio ranks third in baseball this season (minimum of 150 at-bats), trailing only Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins (10.33) and Kyle Schwarber (12.54) of the Chicago Cubs.

Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included Mark Canha (.309, 14 R, 10 2B, 21 RBI) of the Oakland A's; Roberto Osuna (0.79 ERA, 11 G, 10 SV, 14 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays; Boston's Travis Shaw (.310, 17 R, 7 HR, 16 RBI); Francisco Lindor (.370, 17 R, 40 H, 12 RBI) of the Cleveland Indians; Carlos Correa (.250, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 6 SB) of the Houston Astros; and Carlos Rodon (2-1, 2.48 ERA, 32.2 IP, 32 SO) and Trayce Thompson (.469, 15 H, 4 2B, 6 RBI) of the Chicago White Sox.

In recognition of his American League Rookie of the Month Award, Miguel Sano will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for his accomplishment.