Offensive player of the month presents a tough choice for May 2016, as so many hitters turned in superlative performances. Ben Zobrist leads off with a .483 OBP, the best in the majors. He added 13 extra base hits to his high hit and walk totals for a .653 slugging percentage. Right behind him is Jackie Bradley, Jr. with a .474 OBP and an even higher .701 slugging percentage. Bradley captivated the baseball world with his 29-game hit streak.
Strictly on the power side, David Ortiz led the way with a .765 slugging percentage. He also topped the majors in RBI and doubles. Note that Bradley ranks third on the slugging list. While batting average is not a great indicator of talent, it’s rare that a batter hits .400 for even a month. Three players, Daniel Murphy at .416, Marcell Ozuna at .411, and Zobrist at .406 all accomplished that feat in May. Mookie Betts took advantage of all the power behind him to score 30 runs in the month. Khristopher Davis and Adam Duvall each hit 11 home runs, but didn’t do much else.
My choice is the consensus second place pick, Bradley. While he didn’t lead in any category, he posted a much better slugging percentage than the leader in OBP, and a much better OBP than the leader in slugging percentage. Jackie Bradley, Jr. is the Baseball Musings Offensive Player of the Month for May 2016.
Pitcher of the month is a much easier choice. While a number of pitchers posted outstanding ERAs, one did it with incredible three-true outcome numbers, Clayton Kershaw. Not only did he post a major league best 0.91 ERA in the month, he did it while allowing just two walks and one home run while striking out 65. That was good for a 5-0 record. Three of those starts were shutouts, so he’s staying the game. Jose Fernandez went 6-0 with a 1.38 ERA, and his three-true outcome numbers would have won him the award in most months. (Just to point out how meaningless wins can be, Julio Teheran pitched the same number of innings with the same ERA as Fernandez, but was 1-2.) Clayton Kershaw is the Baseball Musings Pitcher of the Month for May 2016.