The Kansas City Royals announced this morning that infielder Adalberto Mondesi and right-handed pitcher Brad Keller have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for the month of September. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Mondesi, 23, hit .282/.322/.564 (31-for-110) with 20 runs, eight home runs, 17 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 26 games. He ranked among the American League leaders in: stolen bases (2nd), home runs (tied for 4th), hits (tied for 7th), runs, (tied for 7th) and extra-base hits (14, tied for 7th). His combination of eight homers and 14 steals have been matched in a calendar month by only two others since 1913: Carlos Beltrán (10 home runs, 16 steals) in August 2004 and Joe Morgan (8 home runs, 15 steals) in August 1976. Mondesi recorded a homer and a steal in the same game five times in September, just two behind the Major League leader for the entire season, Mike Trout, who had seven such games. Six of his eight homers either tied the game or gave Kansas City a lead. Mondesi reached safely in a career-high 13 straight games from September 3-17, including a career-high-tying four hits on September 12 vs. the White Sox. This is his first career Royals Player of the Month Award.
Keller, 23, went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA (7 ER in 27 IP) in four starts, three of which he held opponents to one earned run over 7.0 innings. In his final start on September 23 at Detroit, he earned a 3-2 win with 7.0 innings of one-run ball, lowering his season ERA to 3.08 (48 ER in 140.1 IP), best among American League rookies. Since 1977, only one pitcher in the American League has recorded more innings and a lower ERA in his first season: Michael Fulmer (3.06 ERA in 159 IP), in 2016, when he won AL Rookie of the Year. Keller ended the season with a streak of 34 consecutive homerless innings, the sixth-longest active streak in the American League. This is Keller’s third Royals Pitcher of the Month Award (also won in June and August), making him the first Royals rookie to earn the honor three times in one season since Brian Bannister won it in June, July and August of 2007.
