KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced this afternoon that outfielder Nelson Velázquez and right-handed pitcher James McArthur have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for September/October. The awards are determined by a local media vote.

Velázquez recorded 20 hits in his 23 games from Sept. 1-30, and 12 of those hits (60.0%) went for extra bases, including 3 doubles and a team-high 9 home runs. His 9 home runs last month tied for the 3rd most by a Royal ever in the month of September, behind only Salvador Perez’s 10 home runs in 2021 and Jorge Soler’s 10 homers in 2019. His 9 home runs also tied for the American League lead and ranked tied for 5th in the Majors, trailing Ronald Acuña Jr. (11), Matt Olson (11), Kyle Schwarber (10) and Juan Soto (10). Velázquez posted a .932 OPS last month, which ranked 5th in the American League (min. 90 PA), trailing leader Yordan Alvarez (1.068). He homered in 3 straight games from Sept. 4-6 vs. the White Sox, becoming the first Royal to homer in 3 consecutive contests in two years, since Perez turned the trick from Sept. 14-16, 2021. On Sept. 24 in Houston, he hit a pair of solo home runs—including going back-to-back with Perez in the 3rd inning—to mark his 2nd career multi-homer game and his 1st as a Royal. Velázquez was acquired by Kansas City in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on July 31, and this marks his first career monthly honor with the Royals.

McArthur pitched 16.1 scoreless innings from Sept. 1 through the season’s end, which is the 6th longest active scoreless streak in the Majors and the 3rd longest active streak in the American League, behind Houston’s Bryan Abreu (27.2 IP) and Boston’s Chris Martin (19.0 IP). He was the only pitcher in the Majors to record at least 16.0 innings without allowing a run from Sept. 1-Oct. 1, and his .096 opponents’ average (5-for-52) over that stretch led the Majors (min. 16.0 IP), ahead of Cy Young candidate Blake Snell (.123). McArthur hasn’t issued a walk since Aug. 12 vs. the Cardinals, and his 18.1 walkless innings since is the 2nd longest active streak in the Majors and is the 2nd longest by a Royal in the 2023 season, behind only Zack Greinke’s 19.0-inning run from July 25-Aug. 28. He was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 17 and recalled on Sept. 1, after which he retired 48 of the 53 batters he faced, including 19 via strikeouts (10.5 K/9, 35.8 K%). His 35.8% strikeout rate in that stretch ranked 4th in the Majors (min. 16.0 IP), behind Tarik Skubal (39.4%), Emmet Sheehan (39.1%) and Aaron Civale (37.5%). He went a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities and was one of just four American League pitchers to record at least 4 saves without any blown opportunities, joining Jhoan Duran (4-for-4), Clay Holmes (8-for-8) and Trevor May (6-for-6). All 4 of McArthur’s saves came over the final two weeks of the season, which tied Josh Hader and Raisel Iglesias for the Major League lead over that span. He spun a 1-2-3 9th inning on Sept. 18 vs. the Guardians to earn his 1st career save, which came just two days after earning his 1st career win with 1.1 scoreless innings on Sept. 16 vs. Houston. This marks McArthur’s first career monthly honor, after making his Major League debut with the Royals on June 28 vs. Cleveland.