Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for August, and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been voted the Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month for August. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Stanton posted a slash line of .349/.433/.899 with 28 runs scored, 38 hits, six doubles, 18 home runs, 37 RBI and a stolen base over 29 games played to claim his third career NL Player of the Month Award, last winning in June 2015. This is Miami's first Player of the Month Award this season, and the first since Stanton's last honor in 2015. Stanton paced the Majors in runs scored, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage, while finishing fourth in hits and fifth in batting average among NL sluggers.
Stanton, who was awarded NL Player of the Week honors twice during the month of August, clubbed his 50th home run of the season last Sunday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the California native became the 28th different player in Major League history to blast 50 homers in a single season. In addition, the 27-year-old slugger became the fastest player to reach the milestone since 2001, doing so in Miami's 129th game of the 2017 campaign. During Barry Bonds' 73-homer season in 2001, Bonds reached the 50-homer mark in San Francisco's 117th team game. The only other players in MLB history to reach the 50-homer threshold prior to their team's 130th contest were Hall of Famer Babe Ruth in 1921 (125), Roger Maris in 1961 (125), Mark McGwire in both 1998 (125) and 1999 (124), and Sammy Sosa in 1999 (121). In Miami's contest on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals, the Marlins' second round selection in the 2007 MLB Draft notched his 51st home run of the season, increasing his Major League lead to 14 homers over fellow 2017 All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. Elias also notes that Stanton joined Hall of Famers Ruth (1919-21, 24, 26-28) and Jimmie Foxx (1932-33) as the only players since 1876 to pace the Majors by as many as 14 home runs at any point in a season. Overall, the 2016 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Champion matched Rudy York (August 1937) for the second-most homers in a calendar month in MLB history. Sammy Sosa recorded 20 round-trippers in June 1998 during his 66-homer campaign.
Five-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt (.330, 18 R, 11 HR, 31 RBI) of the Arizona Diamondbacks also received votes for NL Player of the Month. Goldschmidt, who scored his 100th run of the season on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, became the first D-back in team history to log at least 100 runs scored in four seasons. 
Machado batted .341 (43-for-126) with 23 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, 12 home runs, 35 RBI and three stolen bases over 29 games played to claim his second career AL Player of the Month Award, last winning in April 2016. Among qualified AL hitters, Machado finished his strong month first in RBI; tied for first in home runs; fourth in slugging percentage; and fifth in batting average. This is Baltimore's first Player of the Month Award since Manny's most recent honor last season.
Over the course of his award-winning month, Machado logged at least one hit in 22 of 29 games and posted multi-hit efforts in 14 contests. On August 19th against the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards, the third overall selection in the 2010 MLB Draft clubbed three home runs. With his final homer - a walk-off grand slam - Manny finished the contest with seven RBI. According to Elias, the three-time All-Star became the 13th player in Major League history to log three round-trippers in a game with the final one being a walkoff, and the first since All-Star first baseman Joey Votto accomplished the feat for the Cincinnati Reds on May 13, 2012 against the Washington Nationals. Over a 12-game stretch from August 6th-18th, Machado batted .370 (20-for-54) with 12 runs scored, four doubles, a triple, seven home runs (three grand slams) and 25 RBI. Per Elias, Manny became the first Major Leaguer with 25 RBI over a span of 12 games since Edwin Encarnacion did so for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015. Additionally, the dynamic third baseman became just the 10th player in Major League history, and the first in Orioles franchise history, to record three grand slams in a calendar month. Nine-time All-Star Carlos Beltrán last accomplished the feat for the New York Mets in July 2006. Led in large part by Machado's strong month at the plate, the Orioles enter play today 2.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the second AL Wild Card spot with a 69-67 record (.507).
Three-time All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson (.289, 22 R, 12 HR, 27 RBI) of the Blue Jays also posted a strong month of August. Over a five-game stretch from August 13th-17th, the 31-year-old registered multi-hit efforts in each contest. During the torrid stretch, Donaldson tallied six runs scored, a double, five home runs and nine RBI. Others receiving votes for AL Player of the Month included Manny's teammate Tim Beckham (.394, 27 R, 50 H, 18 XBH); designated hitter Nelson Cruz (.341, 20 R, 10 HR, 24 RBI) of the Seattle Mariners; two-time AL MVP Mike Trout (.315, 26 R, 8 HR, 16 RBI) of the Angels; outfielder Byron Buxton (.324, 22 R, 13 XBH, 22 RBI) of the Twins; first baseman Logan Morrison (11 R, 11 XBH, 14 RBI, .500) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and infielder Joey Gallo (16 R, 11 HR, 22 RBI, .768 SLG) of the Texas Rangers.
The Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month, Giancarlo Stanton, and the Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month, Manny Machado, will each receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments.