Players of the Month

There are a number of good candidates for the April 2017 offensive player of the month. Bryce Harper led the majors in OBP with a .509 mark, batting .391 and slugging .772. He also set a record for runs scored in April with 32 while driving in 26 runs.

Harper’s teammate, Ryan Zimmerman hit .420 for the month, beating out Justin Turner for highest BA in the majors, as Turner hit .404. It’s tough to hit .400 for a month, let alone a season. Zimmerman added eleven home runs and 29 RBI. His home run total tied for the MLB lead with Eric Thames. His RBI total led the majors outright. Note that the top three players driving in runs were the heart of the Nationals order, as Daniel Murphy joined Harper with 26 RBI. The three together drove in more runs that the Royals scored as a team in April. Zimmerman’s slugging percentage also topped the league. He’s a fairly obvious choice for the top spot, so Ryan Zimmerman wins the Baseball Musings Offensive Player of the Month for April 2017! Also, congratulations on nice comebacks by both Zimmerman and Thames.

On the pitching side, it’s a three-way race. Ervin Santana posted the best ERA, 0.77, with a 4-0 record. Dallas Keuchel went 5-0, pitched the most innings, and out performed Santana in two of the three true outcomes. Keuchel’s ERA came in third, at 1.21.

Chris Sale outpitched both in terms of three-true outcomes, with 12.42 K per 9 IP, 1.43 walks per 9 IP, and just one home run allowed in 37 2/3 innings. That was good for a 1.19 ERA, second best in the majors. Amazingly, all three pitch for American League teams and face a designated hitter. Note that Sale doesn’t lead the majors in any of those three categories, but he is near the top in all of them. Despite his great pitching, he owns a 1-2 record in five starts. Santana is helped a great deal by his defense, and Keuchel has a better offense behind him. For doing everything well a pitcher should do, despite his record, Chris Sale is the Baseball Musings Pitcher of the Month for April 2017.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2oOQFAe