Major League Baseball

Shohei Ohtani's historic June headlines Verlander's team of the month

Updated Jul. 3, 2023 4:04 p.m. ET

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Ben Verlander

FOX Sports MLB Analyst

We've completed three of the six full months of the MLB season, bringing us to the halfway mark.

For some players, June was a time to turn things around. For others, it was to secure a spot in the All-Star Game (July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). For one, it was about recording the best month in the history of the sport.

Without further ado, here's my latest Team of the Month!

Catcher: Yainer Díaz, Houston Astros — .310 batting average, five home runs, 12 RBIs, eight doubles

I don't think anyone really saw this coming. The Astros' primary catcher was — and still is — Martín Maldonado. But having Díaz come up and be this good adds so much depth to this team and gives the Astros more capability to start Maldonado and take him out to have Díaz hit.

First base: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves — .272 batting average, 11 home runs, 25 RBIs, .993 OPS

This was a tough one for me, but I landed on Olson because he hit a whopping 11 home runs in the month. Eleven homers! That certainly helped him earn an All-Star nod on Sunday.

Olson has been so streaky this year. He started off really well, and then he went through a bad stretch. It appears he's locked in now, or at least he was for the whole month of June. 

Second base: Luis Arráez, Miami Marlins — .406 batting average, two home runs, 19 RBIs, seven strikeouts

When you're on a mission to hit .400, you need a lot of months when you hit .400. June was one of those months, and it was also the month he came on "Flippin' Bats." (Coincidence? I think not.) He also hit two homers! 

If you don't know much about Arráez other than his high batting average, he doesn't have many home runs (just 17 in his five-year career). So, give him some credit there. Moreover, he struck out just seven times. I had some nights in minor-league baseball where I struck out seven times in a game. OK, that didn't happen. But you get the point.

Angels' Shohei Ohtani, Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. headline Team of the Month

Third base: José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians — .330 batting average, seven home runs, 23 RBIs, 1.030 OPS

I'm really happy about this one because Ramírez turned it around. He was really struggling to start the year and wasn't playing the way we were accustomed to seeing him play. 

Shortstop: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers — .368 batting average, five home runs, 25 RBIs, 1.083 OPS

The Rangers have been the best offense in baseball, and they've done a fair amount of it without Seager. Despite being hurt, he's having quite the year, hitting .351 with 10 homers, 49 RBIs and a 1.023 OPS. The MVP race is currently a non-starter, but Seager would normally be in the conversation and he's a deserving All-Star starter.

Outfield: Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies — .351 batting average, five home runs, 21 RBIs

All-Star Castellanos! He had a good month of June to help him earn a much-deserved nod. Castellano always hits. I got to play with him when we were both in the Detroit Tigers organization, and he just hit at every level. 

Last year's output was an exception, as he initially struggled on a new team yet still produced some big moments in the postseason.

Outfield: Michael Harris II, Braves — .372 batting average, five home runs, 14 RBIs, 1.005 OPS

Harris raised his batting average over 60 points in the month of June. How do you do that? Well, hitting .372 certainly helps. He also added some power along the way and is doing it while hitting in the nine spot for the Braves. 

Just think about that. He hits ninth in the Braves' lineup, and he's one of my top three outfielders for the month. 

Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves — .356 batting average, nine home runs, 1.111 OPS, 14 stolen bases

He somehow stepped up his pace for a 40/70 season in June, having a bit of a power surge late in the month. He also had seven doubles and made numerous great defensive plays. 

The NL MVP front-runner was deservedly the leading vote-getter for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, which makes it easy to forget this is his first full season since he tore his ACL.

Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels — .394 batting average, 15 home runs, 29 RBIs, 1.444 OPS

He's obviously on this team. That OPS is the best in a single month since Lou Gehrig! Have you heard of him? Yeah, you have. I obviously talk about him a ton. When you add in the pitching, he just had the greatest month in the history of baseball. But offensively, it rivals some of the greatest months we've ever seen. 

Did Shohei Ohtani just have the best month in MLB history?

Starting pitcher: Blake Snell, San Diego Padres — 3-1, three earned runs, 53 strikeouts, 31 innings pitched, .124 batting average against

Snell was a Cy Young Award winner in 2018. After some struggles over the past few seasons, he got back to that level in June. He gave up only three earned runs in the whole month. 

He was also a recent guest on "Flippin' Bats," giving us the opportunity to speak with him when we were in San Diego. We asked how he's been able to turn things around recently. The reason? Golf. The point is, he's not overthinking things. 

Relief pitcher: Félix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles — Seven saves, 22 strikeouts, 10 2/3 innings pitched, one earned run, zero walks, six hits

There might have been some players with more saves than Bautista in June, but no one was more dominant. He's striking out an average of two batters per inning, which is just nuts, and touching 103 mph on the gun.

Player of the Month: Shohei Ohtani

This is pretty self-explanatory. 

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in this topic

Major League Baseball

Yainer Diaz

Houston Astros

Matt Olson

Atlanta Braves

Luis Arraez

Miami Marlins

José Ramírez

Cleveland Guardians

Corey Seager

Texas Rangers

Nick Castellanos

Philadelphia Phillies

Michael Harris

Ronald Acuña

Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels

Blake Snell

San Diego Padres

Félix Bautista

Baltimore Orioles

MLB - NL National League vs. AL American League - 07/12/2023

Ben Verlander

Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander