Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta of the AL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays has been voted the American League Pitcher of the Month for September, and starting pitcher Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been named the National League Pitcher of the Month for September. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Peralta earned the third award of his career and first in the American League after previously winning twice as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in August 2023 and August 2025. It marks the second award of the season for Tampa Bay after Drew Rasmussen garnered honors in June. Additionally, it marks the second time in franchise history that the Rays earned multiple honors in the same season with Blake Snell winning in August and September of his 2018 AL Cy Young campaign. Overall, he is the 10th Rays pitcher to win the award, joining Rasmussen (2x: August 2022 & June 2026); Taj Bradley (July 2024); Tyler Glasnow (2x: April 2019 & July 2023); Rich Hill (May 2021); Snell; Chris Archer (July 2013); Jeremy Hellickson (May 2011); David Price (September 2010); and Scott Kazmir (May 2008). Jones won the award for the first time in his career, marking Pittsburgh’s first honor since Paul Skenes won in July 2025. He is just the ninth Pirate (11th occurrence) to win the award, joining Skenes; Ivan Nova (April 2017); Gerrit Cole (April 2015); Randy Tomlin (June 1992); Doug Drabek (3x: August 1987, July & August 1990); Rick Rhoden (June 1986); John Candelaria (July 1982); and Kent Tekulve (August 1978).
Freddy Peralta, Tampa Bay Rays (@fpd04____)
Across five starts, the 30-year-old went 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA (3 ER/28.0 IP) while allowing 16 hits with just nine walks, 23 strikeouts, a 0.89 WHIP, a .165 opponents’ batting average and 7.39 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
The Moca, Dominican Republic native ranked second in the Majors behind only Jones in ERA; ranked sixth in opponents’ batting average; and ranked 10th in WHIP.
The two-time All-Star allowed one-or-zero runs in each of his starts and threw 5.0 hitless innings on September 13th against Houston as he lowered his ERA from 5.11 and finished the campaign with a 4.42 mark. Per Elias, Peralta made six consecutive starts of at least 5.0 innings and one-or-zero runs allowed to close his season, matching the fourth longest such streak in Major League history. Only three pitchers had a longer streak (excluding intervening relief appearances) to end a season including Johan Santana in 2004 (8 G), Big Ed Walsh in 1908 (8 G), and Hall of Famer Jim Kaat in 1974 (7 G).
The right-hander was not tagged with a loss in any of his final six starts of the season, and took a loss just twice in his 10 starts after being acquired by the Rays from the Mets at the Trade Deadline. His four wins in September marked the fifth time a Rays pitcher won at least four games and went undefeated in September, joining Blake Snell (5-0 in 2018); Drew Smyly (4-0 in 2015); and David Price (2x: 4-0 in 2012 & 4-0 in 2010).
A top-five finisher in NL Cy Young voting last year, Peralta started 32 games this season, logging his 30th start of the season on September 13th against Houston at Tropicana Field. He has now started at least 30 games in each of the last four seasons, joining Kevin Gausman as the only pitchers to reach the mark in each season since 2023, with Gausman’s streak spanning six campaigns since 2021.
Now in his ninth season, Peralta struck out four batters in his final start of the regular season on Friday at Philadelphia, giving him 156 strikeouts on the campaign. Since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2021, he is one of 11 pitchers in the Majors with at least 1,000 strikeouts, ranking sixth with 1,051. He trails only Dylan Cease (1,345 SO); Zack Wheeler (1,234 SO); Kevin Gausman (1,204 SO); Aaron Nola (1,131 SO); and Logan Gilbert (1,089 SO).
Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates (@jaredjones17)
Across five starts, the 25-year-old went 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA (3 ER/29.0 IP) while allowing 13 hits with just four walks, 40 strikeouts, a 0.59 WHIP, a .133 opponents’ batting average and 12.41 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
The Whittier, California native led the Majors in ERA and WHIP; and ranked second in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average.
The right-hander struck out nine in three of his five starts in September, posting the lowest WHIP of a Pirates starter with at least 40 strikeouts in a calendar month, surpassing the previous low mark of 0.79 by Harvey Haddix in May 1959. Overall, Jones is the eighth Pirates pitcher since 1901 with at least 40 strikeouts and a WHIP under 1.00 in a calendar month, with his rotationmate Braxton Ashcraft also achieving the feat in May of this year (42 SO, 0.93 WHIP). Additionally, he is just the second Pirates pitcher since 1913 to have a sub-1.00 ERA with at least 35 strikeouts and 25.0 innings pitched in a month, joining his rotationmate Paul Skenes. Skenes achieved the feat in July 2025 with a 0.67 ERA and 36 strikeouts across 27.0 innings.
The second-round selection in the 2020 Draft took a perfect game bid into the sixth inning on September 22nd against St. Louis, permitting just one hit in 7.0 scoreless frames. Per Elias, he is the first Pirate in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to have multiple perfect-game bids of at least 5.1 innings in a single season.
The La Mirada High School (CA) product is one of six Pirates (seventh occurrence) since 1961 to have at least three no-hit bids of at least 5.1 innings in a single season after he also threw 6.0 perfect innings on July 8th against Atlanta and 6.2 no-hit innings on September 10th at Chicago (AL). He joined Bob Veale (3 in 1965); John Candelaria (3 in 1976); Jose DeLeon (2x: 4 in 1983 & 4 in 1984); A.J. Burnett (3 in 2012); and Skenes (3 in 2026).
Jones, who missed the entire 2025 season, struck out at least eight batters and permitted two-or-fewer walks in each of his first four starts of the month. He became the fourth Pirates pitcher since 1901 to achieve the feat in at least four straight starts, joining J.A. Happ (4 GS, 9/4-9/22/2015); Mitch Keller (7 GS, 4/27-5/31/2023); and Skenes (5 GS, 6/23-7/23/2024).
Others receiving votes for AL Pitcher of the Month included Cam Schlittler (2-0, 1.20 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 12 H, 7 BB, 38 SO) of the New York Yankees, who will start tonight’s Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against Boston; Peralta’s rotationmate, Drew Rasmussen (2-0, 1.05 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 4 GS, 25.2 IP, 16 H, 5 BB, 25 SO) of the Rays; Ranger Suarez (3-1, 1.09 0.93 WHIP, 4 GS, 24.2 IP, 16 H, 7 BB, 21 SO) of the fifth-seeded Boston Red Sox; Reid Detmers (3-0, 2.40 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 22 H, 4 BB, 37 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; and Gavin Williams (2-1, 2.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 18 H, 12 BB, 44 SO) of the second-seeded AL Central Champion Cleveland Guardians.
Others receiving votes for NL Pitcher of the Month included Tarik Skubal (4-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 5 GS, 32.0 IP, 28 H, 6 BB, 33 SO) of the second-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers; Zack Wheeler (3-0, 1.71 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 5 GS, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 6 BB, 39 SO) of the sixth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies; Robert Gasser (1-0, 1.67 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 5 GS, 27.0 P, 13 H, 10 BB, 25 SO) of the top-seeded NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers; Shota Imanaga (3-0, 2.25 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 5 GS, 24.0 IP, 17 H, 2 BB, 26 SO) of the fifth-seeded Chicago Cubs; and Cade Cavalli (1-0, 2.12 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 3 GS, 17.0 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 23 SO) of the Washington Nationals.