National League Players of the Month: August 2024

By this point in the MLB season, most of the year’s major storylines have solidified. You know the ones I’m talking about. Something like this:

Shohei Ohtani is going to become the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP.

Or maybe this:

Chris Sale is finally going to win his Cy Young to cap off a triumphant comeback campaign.

Those stories began writing themselves at the very beginning of the year, first in pencil, then in pen, and soon, perhaps, they’ll be etched in stone.

Yet, as our August Players of the Month will show you, neither the NL MVP nor Cy Young races are wrapped up quite yet. Ohtani and Sale are the favorites, but Just Baseball’s Gold Medal Hitter and Pitcher of the Month in August are trying their best to rewrite these storylines before the end of the season.

All stats reflect games through August 31, 2024, unless otherwise stated.

NL Hitters of the Month

Gold Medal Hitter of the Month: Francisco Lindor, NYM

August stats: 129 PA, 6 HR, 22 R, 16 RBI, .325/.372/.567, 163 wRC+, 3 SB, 1.8 fWAR

Shohei Ohtani is still the NL MVP favorite, but with everything we saw in August, Francisco Lindor might be the more deserving candidate.

Lindor led the NL in FanGraphs WAR this past month with an all-around stellar performance. The superstar shortstop ranked fourth in offensive runs above average (10.0) and third in defensive runs above average (3.4).

His rare combination of hitting, fielding, and baserunning excellence is precisely why Lindor is challenging Ohtani in the MVP race.

By the end of August, Lindor had surpassed Ohtani on the NL fWAR leaderboard; he has only padded his lead in a handful of games since.

On the season, Lindor ranks third in the NL in offensive runs above average (32.2) and second in defensive runs above average (16.4). That adds up to 7.2 fWAR, half of a win higher than Ohtani’s 6.7 total.

Typically, I wouldn’t rely so heavily on WAR in an MVP discussion, especially when the two leading candidates are less than a win apart. In this case, however, fWAR perfectly encapsulates how uniquely valuable Lindor has been on both sides of the ball.

Silver Medal Hitter of the Month: Corbin Carroll, ARI

August stats: 115 PA, 11 HR, 30 R, 24 RBI, .280/.342/.700, 173 wRC+, 2 SB, 1.6 fWAR

This isn’t exactly news anymore, but I have to say it: Corbin Carroll is back.

The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year got off to an ice-cold start in 2024, batting .186 with a 54 wRC+ over his first 50 games. He looked better over his next 50, hitting .236 with a 104 wRC+, but he still wasn’t the game-changing superstar he had been the year before.

Yet, since the end of July, Carroll has been nothing short of spectacular. Over his last 36 games, he is batting .301 with a 184 wRC+. He has hit 13 home runs, plus three doubles and six triples, good for a ridiculous .707 slugging percentage and .406 isolated power.

It’s safe to say he has finally busted out of his prolonged slump.

Carroll led NL batters in triples, runs scored, slugging percentage, and isolated power during August. He ranked second in home runs, third in OPS, fourth in wRC+, and fifth in Win Probability Added (WPA).

The 24-year-old also possesses 96th-percentile sprint speed and plays good defense in right field, although that was true even while he was slumping at the plate over the first 100 games of the season.

Don’t let his slow start fool you, the future remains bright and the sky remains the limit for Corbin Carroll.

Bronze Medal Hitter of the Month: William Contreras, MIL

August stats: 123 PA, 9 HR, 22 R, 23 RBI, .295/.398/.648, 183 wRC+, 1 SB, 1.7 fWAR

William Contreras has put up such phenomenal offensive numbers that he’d probably be on this podium even if he weren’t a catcher. The fact that he plays the most valuable defensive position only makes his performance this past month all the more impressive.

No NL batter (min. 100 PA) had a higher OPS or wRC+ than Contreras in August. He also ranked among the top five in home runs, runs scored, and walks.

Unfortunately, the young catcher hasn’t been nearly as impressive behind the dish as he has been at the dish. Nonetheless, Contreras is still an above-average defensive contributor, just not one of the best defensive players in the game.

All in all, August 2024 was arguably the best month of Contreras’s young career, only strengthing his case to be considered the best catcher in baseball.

Just Missed the Podium: Joc Pederson, ARI

August stats: 90 PA, 6 HR, 18 R, 16 RBI, .294/.467/.588, 192 wRC+, 1 SB, 1.0 fWAR

Joc Pederson only took 90 plate appearances in August. That’s significantly fewer than Lindor, Carroll, and Contreras – hence why Pederson missed the podium – but it was technically enough to qualify for rate stats.

Thus, the D-backs DH deserves a shoutout for leading qualified NL batters in OBP, OPS, and wRC+ in August. He held his own against southpaws (.833 OPS, 164 wRC+), and his numbers with the platoon advantage were jaw-dropping (1.091 OPS, 198 wRC+).

NL Pitchers of the Month

Gold Medal Pitcher of the Month: Zack Wheeler, PHI

August stats: 3-1 (6 GS), 1.62 ERA, 39.0 IP, 44 K, 5 BB, 1.5 fWAR

Although Chris Sale is still the presumptive NL Cy Young winner, Zack Wheeler is making things interesting as we enter the final month of the season.

The Phillies ace led NL pitchers in innings pitched, ERA, and WPA during August. He also tied for the lead in wins and ranked second in strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 2.93 SIERA ranked third.

The pitch modeling system PitchingBot rated his arsenal as the best among all qualified starters in baseball, while Pitching+ ranked him second.

Thus, whether you look at surface-level stats or just about any underlying numbers, Wheeler remains one of the very best starters in baseball five months into his age-34 season.

Indeed, Wheeler has been the best pitcher in the game since he signed with the Phillies five years ago – even if he doesn’t have a Cy Young Award to prove it.

Silver Medal Pitcher of the Month: Blake Snell, SFG

August stats: 2-0 (6 GS), 1.64 ERA, 38.1 IP, 53 K, 16 BB, 1.4 fWAR

For the second month in a row, Blake Snell takes the silver medal in the National League.

Choosing between Wheeler and Snell was an incredibly difficult choice. With a quick glance at the numbers, you can surely see why.

Snell finished August with 0.2 fewer innings pitched than Wheeler. His ERA was two-hundredths of a run higher. Wheeler had a better strikeout-to-walk ratio, but Snell’s pure strikeout total was significantly better.

As for the underlying numbers, Snell had a lower FIP and xFIP, but Wheeler had a superior SIERA and Pitching+.

Ultimately, we could have put Snell on top of the podium with no complaints, but I’m comfortable sandwiching the reigning NL Cy Young winner in between the top two contenders for this year’s prize.

Bronze Medal Pitcher of the Month: Chris Sale, ATL

August stats: 2-0 (5 GS), 2.05 ERA, 30.2 IP, 42 K, 6 BB, 1.6 fWAR

I have been tempering my expectations for Chris Sale all season long, but the 35-year-old has surpassed even the most optimistic of projections. He has remained healthy and dominant all year, putting himself in a strong position to take home the Cy Young Award he was never able to win earlier in his career.

Somehow, Sale’s 2.05 ERA only ranked fifth in the NL in August, but thanks to a ridiculous 1.03 FIP, he led the Senior Circuit in fWAR. He also paced the league in xFIP and K-BB%, and he was the only qualified pitcher in the league not to give up a home run.

With less than four weeks remaining in the regular season, Sale leads the NL in all three Triple Crown categories and all three versions of WAR (fWAR, bWAR, and WARP).

Just Missed the Podium: Ryan Walker, SFG

August stats: 12 G, 13.2 IP, 5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 26 K, 2 BB, 1.0 fWAR

This is the first time all season we’ve included a closer as one of our players of the month, but it won’t take me long to prove Ryan Walker is more than deserving of the honor.

Over 12 appearances and 13.2 IP, Walker didn’t give up a single run. He struck out just under 50% of the batters he faced while issuing only two walks. The Giants won 10 of the 12 games he pitched.

Despite his low innings total compared to the starting pitchers on this list, Walker ranked fourth among all NL pitchers with 1.0 WAR and second with a 1.66 WPA.