August was a good month for many all-star players. Here are the finest of the National League for the past month.
As if he did not do enough already, DH Shohei Ohtani led the way this month by creating the 43-43 club, having his dog throw out the first pitch, and hitting the first of three consecutive home runs by former MVPs. I still find it hard to picture him stealing so much. A global icon who is making a living partly on thievery. Nonetheless, he was not the only star in August. Here are the other NL all-stars for August.
C William Contreras
1B Matt Olson
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Manny Machado
SS Francisco Lindor
LF Jackson Chourio
CF Corbin Carroll
RF Jackson Merrill
DH Shohei Ohtani
SP Blake Snell
RP Raisel Iglesias
NL East Feast
The NL East provides the pieces to complete a 6-4-3 double play with Matt Olson, Luis García, and Francisco Lindor. Fall is also coming fast, which might cool off the production of some of these NL East all-stars. It’s also possible the thrill of a playoff berth helps Lindor continue to shine for the New York Mets. Lindor hit .325 with 22 runs (18% of the Mets runs for the month) and was third in WAR for the month. The icing on the cake was he tied 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for most hits in the month with 39.
García did his part to make the Washington Nationals a competitive team this month. Sadly, the rest of the team never got the memo. He was fifth in average (.341), got 30 hits, and only struck out 12 times. That’s about as much as you can ask for from a player on a team 20 games out of first place. Heading south, Matt Olson put in work for the Atlanta Braves. Olson hit eight homers, ten doubles, and drove in 27 runs to help keep the injury-plagued Braves in the wild card race.
Brilliance Brewing in Milwaukee
The Craig Counsell revenge tour in Milwaukee continued this month. The Milwaukee Brewers had an MLB-best 19 wins in August thanks in large part to C William Contreras. Contreras said, Yelich who? and led the team in the absence of their biggest star. His nine homers, 22 runs, and 23 RBIs led all catchers for the month. He also helped the Brewers pitching staff have the third best ERA (3.25) in the league.
Another player Milwaukee must thank for their growing lead in the NL Central is OF Jackson Chourio. Chourio hit .321/.372/.554 and had eight stolen bases, five home runs, 18 runs, and 19 RBIs. OF Jackson Merrill is not on the Brewers, but let’s just pretend I mixed up the Jacksons and keep him in the category. Would it ever be possible to have a Jackson 5 all-star team for the AL or the NL? The San Diego Padre Jackson was fifth in OPS amongst outfielders at .969 and hit seven home runs, scored 18 runs, and drove in 23 more. The Padres will need all of that and more in the hotly contested NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks all looking like playoff teams.
NL West: Where You Need the Best
This division has three all-stars, so we’ll talk about them in the order of the standings because that’s what truly matters at this point in the season. That means Shohei Ohtani is first. Can you believe there was a month where Ohtani didn’t get the DH nod? Ohtani surpassed 3B Alex Rodriguez (something I am always happy to see) by getting to the 43-43 club with 43 home runs and 43 stolen bases this season. In August alone, he led MLB with 15 steals, tied with OF Aaron Judge with 12 home runs, and was third in runs with 24. Yes, his average was low this month, but any player with the clout to have his bobblehead feature his dog will get the benefit of the doubt.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are rounding into form, much like last season. Corbin Carroll hit four triples, his slugging (.700) was second only to Judge, and he led the league with 30 runs. 11 home runs and 24 RBIs bookend a colossal month. Is another run to the World Series in the cards? Only time will tell. The Diamondbacks will have stiff competition from above and below. The San Diego Padres were led by 3B Manny Machado in August. Machado roped nine doubles, seven homers, scored 16 runs, and drove in 25. The Padres need a playoff appearance after last year’s flop. A dominant Machado greatly improves their chances. Maybe he’ll strike out to lose a series against Chris Sale again this year, like in 2018.
Pitch Perfect, Nearly
Blake Snell and Zack Wheeler were neck and neck this month for all-star starter. Wheeler had six starts and six quality starts, while Snell had six starts with five quality starts. However, with a similar ERA (1.62 for Wheeler and 1.64 for Snell), the difference was the hits allowed and strikeouts. Snell was better in both, suggesting more domination on the mound by giving up 16 hits in 38.1 innings and getting 53 strikeouts.
The best reliever this month is about as far away from San Francisco as you can get. Raisel Iglesias of the Atlanta Braves gets the nod for giving up zero runs through 13.1 innings. Along the way he earned six saves, three wins, and got 14 strikeouts. Shades of vintage RP Craig Kimbrel and SP John Smoltz from Iglesias this month to say the least.
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