Relief pitcher Jacob Latz of the Texas Rangers has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month for June and closer Jhoan Duran of the Philadelphia Phillies has been named the National League Reliever of the Month for June. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Latz earned his first career award in his fifth season, joining Joe Nathan (June 2013) as the only Rangers relievers to receive the award. Duran claimed his second award and first in the National League after previously winning in May 2025 as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Duran joined Jonathan Papelbon (April 2012) and Craig Kimbrel (June 2023) as the only Phillies relievers to win the award. Duran also joined Papelbon, who won the award in April 2006 as a member of the Red Sox, and Kimbrel, who won the award three times with the Braves and once as a member of the Red Sox in May 2017, as the third Phillie to win the award with the Club after previously winning as a member of another team.
Jacob Latz, Texas Rangers (jlatz67)
- The 30-year-old pitched to a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) while converting all 11 of his save opportunities across 12 appearances in which he allowed six hits with four walks, 19 strikeouts, a 0.63 WHIP, a .113 opponents’ batting average and 10.69 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Lemont, Illinois native paced the Majors in saves; tied for eighth among qualified relievers in strikeouts; and ranked 10th in WHIP.
- The fifth-round pick in the 2017 Draft matched a Rangers’ franchise record with 11 saves in a month, joining John Wetteland (May 2000); Jeff Zimmerman (2001); and Joe Nathan (June 2013). Latz also became the only pitcher of the group to do so while recording at least 19 strikeouts.
- The Louisiana State University product became just the third MLB pitcher since 2024 to record 11 saves in a month, joining Cade Smith (May 2026) and Ryan Helsley (June 2024). He converted saves on back-to-back days three times during the month, turning the trick on June 10th and 11th at Kansas City; June 25th and 26th at Toronto; and June 29th and 30th at Cleveland.
- In Monday’s win over the Cleveland Guardians, Latz recorded his MLB-best fifth save of at least 2.0 innings, the most by any pitcher in a season since 2019. Latz also leads MLB in saves of 1.1 innings-or-more (9) and is just the second pitcher in franchise history since 1994 with at least nine saves of four-or-more outs in a season, joining Francisco Cordero, who had nine such saves in 2004.
- Latz’s 18 saves prior to the All-Star break are the most by a Rangers pitcher since Keone Kela’s 23 saves in 2018.
Jhoan Duran, Philadelphia Phillies (jhoan_duran59)
- The 28-year-old pitched to a 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11.0 IP) while converting nine of his 10 save opportunities across 12 appearances in which he allowed nine hits with a walks, 18 strikeouts, a 0.91 WHIP, a .220 opponents’ batting average and 14.73 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Esperanza, Dominican Republic native led qualified relievers with an 18:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio; tied for second in saves; ranked third with a 40.5% strikeout-to-walk percentage; and ranked fourth with a 42.9 strikeout percentage.
- The flamethrower joined Jack Baldschun (July 1964); Steve Bedrosian (2x: August 1986 and May 1987); and Hector Neris (September/October 2017) as the fourth reliever in Phillies history to record a month
- with nine-or-more saves and at least 18 strikeouts.
- Duran’s 21 saves before the All-Star break are the most by a Phillie since Jeanmar Gómez recorded 24 in 2016, and his 89.5 save percentage across his career ranks third in MLB history since 1969 (min. 100 save opportunities). After starting the season a perfect 16-for-16 in saves, Duran suffered his first blown save on June 9th at Toronto, snapping a streak of 17 consecutive saves that dated back to September of last season.
- Duran joined José Alvarado (March/April 2023) as the only relief pitchers in Phillies’ history to boast a strikeout to walk ratio of 40.5% or higher while recording at least 18 strikeouts in a month.
- Duran recorded his 17th consecutive save on June 8th, a streak he began on September 26th of last season. His 17 straight saves set a new career-high, surpassing his previous best of 15 consecutive from September 2023-June 2024.
Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included David Bednar (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 G, 4-for-4 SV, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 0 HR, 1 BB, 11 SO) of the New York Yankees; Enmanuel De Jesus (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 G, 1-for-1 SV, 10.1 IP, 2 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 10 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; Josh Hader (2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13 G, 8-for-8 SV, 13.0 IP, 2 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 21 SO) and Bryan King (2-0, 0.77 ERA, 13 G, 11.2 IP, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 9 SO) of the Houston Astros; Louis Varland (1-2, 2.40 ERA, 13 G, 9-for-9 SV, 15.0 IP, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 22 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays, who was the AL Reliever of the Month for March/April; and Ryan Zeferjahn (2-0, 1.66 ERA, 1-for-1 SV, 13.2 IP, 3 H, 0 HR, 12 BB, 23 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels.
Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included Dylan Lee (2-0, 0,00 ERA, 10 G, 9.1 IP, 4 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 10 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; Mason Miller (1-0, 0.93 ERA, 9 G, 4-for-4 SV, 9.2 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 17 SO), Adrian Morejon (2-0, 2.03 ERA, 12 G, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 16 SO) and Wandy Peralta (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 G, 15.0 IP, 10 H, 0 HR, 5 BB, 6 SO) of the San Diego Padres; Riley O’Brien (0-1, 5.40 ERA, 10 G, 7-for-7 SV, 10.0 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 7 BB, 7 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Tanner Scott (0-1, 1.86 ERA, 10 G, 6-for-6 SV, 9.2 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 0 BB, 14 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Luke Weaver (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 G, 11.1 IP, 1 H, 0 HR, 1 BB, 15 SO) of the New York Mets.