Cincinnati Reds’ Spencer Steer named National League Rookie of the Month for May
Third baseman Josh Jung of the Texas Rangers has been voted the American League Rookie of the Month for a second consecutive month, and infielder Spencer Steer of the Cincinnati Reds has been voted the National League Rookie of the Month for May.
Jung became the first AL rookie to win back-to-back awards since 2022 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award winner Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners for May and June of last season. In addition, Jung became the second Rangers rookie to take consecutive AL Rookie of the Month honors, joining Nomar Mazara (April and May 2016).
Steer earned his first Rookie of the Month Award and became the first Reds winner since his teammate Jonathan India in July 2021.
Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds (@spenc_er22)
• The 25-year-old hit .318 (35-for-110) with six home runs, 19 RBI, eight doubles, one triple, one stolen base, 18 runs scored, a .573 slugging percentage and a .372 on-base percentage across 27 games played in May.
• The University of Oregon product entered the month of June tied for first among all Major League rookies with 24 extra-base hits while leading NL rookies with 58 hits and 100 total bases.
• The California native hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games of the month, including a career-best nine-game hitting streak from May 17th-26th. Steer also scored a run in each of his final nine games of May.
• Steer closed out his award-winning month with a go-ahead two-run blast in the top of the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on May 31st to lift the Reds to a 5-4 victory.
• A third-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft (by Minnesota), Steer collected a career-best four hits in a 10-3 win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on May 24th, and went 8-for-18 (.444) overall in the four-game set, helping the Reds earn a series split against their NL Central rival.
Josh Jung, Texas Rangers (@josh6jung)
• The Texas native hit .318 (34-for-107) with six home runs, 16 RBI, six doubles, one triple, 22 runs scored, a .561 slugging percentage and a .357 on-base percentage during his award-winning month.
• The 25-year-old entered play June 2 with a career-best 14-game hitting streak, including multiple hits in seven of the 14 contests. The streak is tied for the third-longest hitting streak by a Rangers rookie in franchise history.
• The Texas Tech University product registered at least one extra-base hit in eight of his last 10 games of the month and in nine of his last 12 contests.
• Jung produced his second two-homer game of the season, and the third of his career, while driving in three runs in a 12-7 loss on May 3rd against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. He allied his second three-RBI contest of the month on May 23rd at Pittsburgh in a 6-1 victory.
• The eighth overall selection in the 2019 Draft already has a Rangers record for home runs by a rookie third baseman with 12 on the season, surpassing the previous high of eight by Fernando Tatis in 1997. Jung went deep in three consecutive contests from May 21-23, matching the longest home run streak by a Rangers hitter this season and the longest by a Rangers rookie since his teammate Jonah Heim in 2021.
Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Masataka Yoshida (.354, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB, 15 R, .552 SLG, .410 OBP) of the Red Sox; starting pitcher Bryce Miller (3-2, 3.00 ERA, 6 GS, 36.0 IP, 24 H, 3 BB, 31 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; starting pitcher Logan Allen (1-1, 2.83 ERA, 5 GS, 28.2 IP, 32 H, 8 BB, 27 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; shortstop Zach Neto (.231, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 6 2B, 2 SB, 11 R) of the Los Angeles Angels; and outfielder Esteury Ruiz (.282, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B, 17 SB, 13 R) of the Oakland Athletics.
Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included catcher/designated hitter Francisco Alvarez (.292, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 6 2B, 11 R, .667 SLG, .363 OBP) and starting pitcher Kodai Senga (2-2, 2.79 ERA, 5 GS, 29.0 IP, 20 H, 13 BB, 38 SO) of the New York Mets; outfielder Corbin Carroll (.267, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 5 2B, 6 SB, 16 R, .500 SLG, .379 OBP) of the D-backs; and starting pitcher Bobby Miller (2-0, 1.64 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 9 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.