Cleveland Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin has been named American League Rookie of the Month for July.
Naquin batted .348 (24-for-69) with 14 runs scored, five doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI and a stolen base to claim his second consecutive monthly award. Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers accomplished the feat earlier this season in April and May. Prior to Mazara, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox was the most recent rookie to win consecutive honors when he earned the award in June and July of his 2014 AL Rookie of the Year-winning season.
Among AL rookies with at least 20 at-bats, Tyler finished the period first in batting average, slugging percentage (.681) and on-base percentage (.416), second in runs scored, home runs, RBI and extra-base hits (11), tied for second in doubles and walks (8), and tied for third in hits. Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler also delivered a strong month, recording the most runs scored (16), home runs (8) and RBI (23) among AL rookies. On July 20th against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Naquin, a Texas A&M University product, clubbed two home runs and collected six RBI, matching a single-game rookie club record for most RBI (done multiple times, last by Turner Ward on September 15, 1990).
The 15th overall pick of the 2012 MLB Draft became the first Tribe rookie (8th overall) with two home runs and six RBI in a game since Cory Snyder did so on September 4, 1986. The performance also marked the first multi-homer game of his career. From July 16th- 22nd, the left-handed-hitting outfielder recorded a season-high five-game hitting streak, batting .500 (9-for-18) with six runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI. After snapping his streak on July 23rd, Naquin matched his five-game hitting streak to conclude the month of July, hitting .500 (7-for-14) with four runs scored, two doubles and three RBI.
The 11-game stretch raised his batting average by 26 points to .335, while propelling his slugging percentage by 49 points to .629. Entering play today, the Texas native paces Major League rookies with at least 200 at-bats in slugging percentage (.613). Helped in large part by its productive outfielder, Cleveland holds a 3.0-game lead atop the AL Central with a 60-44 record. Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included Kepler (.571 SLG, 16 R, 8 HR, 23 RBI) and Taylor Rogers (1.26 ERA, 14.1 IP, 18 SO) of the Twins; Tony Barnette (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 13.2 IP, 8 SO) of the Rangers; Michael Fulmer (2-0, 2.67 ERA, 33.2 IP, 24 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; and Ryan Dull (3-0, 1.35 ERA, 1 SV, 13 SO) of the Oakland Athletics. In recognition of his American League Rookie of the Month Award, Tyler Naquin will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for his accomplishment