Marlins' Stowers named NL Player of the Month

Miami Herald

a day ago

One month after being named an All-Star for the first time, Kyle Stowers was bestowed another prestigious honor Monday: National League Player of the Month for July.
The Marlins outfielder posted 20 RBI, 10 homers and 16 runs in 24 games with a .364 batting average, .451 on-base percentage of .451 and slugging percentage of .818. He also had a 1.269 on-base plus slugging for the month. His slugging and OPS were both franchise records for July, and his OPS was the third highest for any month in Marlins' history.
Stowers, 27, is the first Marlins player to be named NL Player of the Month since Giancarlo Stanton in August 2017. The left-hander is also the fifth Marlin to win the award, joining Jeff Conine (June 1995), Hanley Ramírez (June 2008), Emilio Bonifacio (July 2011) and Stanton, who owns the club record with three NL Player of the Month awards (also May 2012 and June 2015).
After Sunday's 7-3 win against the Yankees, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough was asked about Stowers garnering attention for the NL Most Valuable Player Award this season.
'I think Kyle should be in that conversation — I really do,' McCullough said. 'Kyle is putting together a real season, with power and average, and the walks, and the [six] outfield assists. Kyle has got a couple of months left, but at this point, it's something, that you, know, he put out there.'
Heading into Monday's three-game series opener against the Astros, Stowers ranks fourth in the National League in both OPS (.948) and slugging (.575), fifth in batting average (.296), and tied for sixth in home runs (25). He's 10th in OBP (.373) and tied for 11th in RBI (71) after four in Sunday's win.
Last month, Stowers became the first Marlins outfielder to be named an NL All-Star since Stanton and Marcell Ozuna in 2017. And he made history with his offensive fireworks bookending the Midsummer Classic.
On July 13 and 18, he became the first player in MLB history with five home runs in a two-game span. That included a walk-off home run July 18 at home against the Royals. He had a career high five hits, three homers, and 14 total bases on July 13 on the road against the Orioles.
He also joined the Tigers' Ty Cobb (May 5-6, 1925) as the only players in MLB history with at least eight hits, five home runs, and 11 RBI in a two-game span since RBI became an official stat in 1920.
He has continued his hot hitting into August. He smacked a grand slam on Friday and whacked a three-run home run — his first tater against a lefty this season — on Sunday.
'What Kyle has been doing, I'm not surprised,' McCullough said after Sunday's game. 'He's taking ferocious swings. Kyle is a dangerous hitter that can cover a lot of locations now and pitch types. Kyle is having a really special season.'