Mike Trout And The MLB’s All-August Team

We’ve successfully made it past the half way point of the season. We’ve successfully made it past the trade deadline. At this juncture, it seems like full speed ahead.

While there’s been postponements and cancellation of games, the baseball season is still ongoing and ongoing pretty well. A long and strange August didn’t stop these men from bringing their best. Here is Major League Baseball’s All-August team!

 

Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies

In 26 games (second most among the position this month behind Chicago’s Willson Contreras), Realmuto lead catchers in home runs and runs batted in. Add to it he was second in hits and third in batting average and you have arguably the best catcher of the month. Not much else to say, he was just that good.

 

First Baseman: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox

This month came down to the wire amongst first baseman. The New York Yankees’ Luke Voit and the Chicago White Sox’ Jose Abreu did battle and it came down to two categories. They tied with home runs, and were close with average and strike outs.

So what decided it? RBIs and hits. Abreu had ten more hits than Voit, as well as eight more RBI. It was close but in the battle of the big cities, the winner is Chicago.

 

Second Baseman: Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals

Merrifield was tied for second in RBIs, he was tied for fifth in home runs, he was tied for second in hits, so why is Whit Merrifield the one who gets the nod at second base? It’s simple: it’s because he was the most productive.

While Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe had more home runs and RBIs, his .264 batting average doesn’t cut it compared to Merrifield’s .290. Merrifield’s overall production is slightly better than Lowe’s.

 

Third Baseman: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

When you’re hitting .324, with nine home runs and 36 hits, you’re doing something right. Machado was last year’s toast of free agency (alongside outfielder Bryce Harper) and though he wasn’t bad last year, he’s been seeing a resurgence this year. He’s one half of San Diego’s special infield tandem.

 

Shortstop: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres

Here’s the second part of that tandem: Fernando Tatis Jr.. He’s fourth in batting average, second in hits, first in home runs and first in RBIs. He’s been that good and is showing no signs of slowing up. At this rate, he may be on the All-2020 team.

 

Left Field: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals

Soto just missed a clean sweep in left field. Despite missing time due to a positive Covid-19 test, Soto has been the man. Leading in hits, home runs and RBIs, the only category missed is batting average. Even in what he missed though, he was second by just .002. Easy choice here.

 

Center Field: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

Let’s just say it: Mike Trout is the best center fielder, if not best baseball player in the league. Leading his fellow center fielders in home runs, RBIs and second in hits, it’s Mike Trout’s sport, others players are just allowed to play it.

Honorable mention to Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert who bested Trout in hits and average. But while he was second in RBIs, it was by a pretty large margin.

 

Right Field: Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies

Los Angeles Dodgers’ right fielder Mookie Betts put on a power hitting clinic this month, belting ten home runs. The problem? Blackmon bested him everywhere else.

Blackmon had seven less home runs but he also had a significantly higher batting average, nine more hits and one more RBI. While not as flashy for the cameras, Blackmon got the job done, and for that he gets our nod.

 

Starting Pitcher: Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs

He had the lowest earned run average of the month and he tied for the most wins this month. Darvish doesn’t have the strike out numbers as Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Shane Bieber or Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, but he’s still put up 40. All those combined and we’ll take him as our starting pitcher.

 

Closing Pitcher: Brad Hand, Cleveland Indians

Hand was second in saves, but he also hasn’t given up many runs when compared to the man with the most saves, Oakland’s Liam Hendricks. However, with ERA being a huge stat for closers, less strike outs and less runs given up are important. That’s why you go Hand.