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1. Shohei Ohtani
If you haven’t gotten enough Shohei Ohtani this month, the former AL MVP has been on an absolute tear. When the calendar turned to the month of June, it’s as if the two-way superstar decided he was gonna show MLB he was the undisputed best player on the planet. Ohtani has done just that.
Entering the last day of June, Ohtani is hitting .394 with 14 home runs, 26 RBI and a ridiculous .919 slugging percentage for the month.
Oh yeah, he also leads MLB in triples, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS.
2. Eury Perez
It’s been an outstanding year for rookies, and the best pitcher that no one knows about has to be the Marlins’ rookie right-hander Eury Perez. In a first half where Sandy Alcántara hasn’t looked like himself, Perez has almost been his doppelganger as the 6-foot-8 righty has been absolutely dominant.
Perez made five starts in June, going 3-0 with a 0.32 ERA and allowing just one earned run. The Marlins have been a good team in the first half and the pitching has been a big reason why with Perez looking like one of their newest building blocks.
3. The Atlanta Braves
The Rays had been the best team since the beginning of the season, but their reign this season has been put on hold — and the Atlanta Braves are the reason why. The Braves’ offense has been an absolute juggernaut in the month of June, crushing 55 home runs this month. For better context, the Cleveland Guardians only have 53 all season.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is showing every night why he’s the frontrunner for the NL MVP Award, but it hasn’t just been Acuña that has brought the offense to life. He along with Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Travis d’Arnaud, Marcell Ozuna and Orlando Arcia make up the deepest lineup in baseball. They make it easy for a rotation that is still without Max Fried and Kyle Wright.
Atlanta is about to run away and hide in the NL East and nobody looks like they are catching them anytime soon.
4. Dave Martinez Rants
It’s been a tough first half for the Washington Nationals, and it’s not just the losses that are getting to manager Dave Martinez, but also some of the calls going against his team. Martinez, who is already known for sounding off to umpires, added a few rants to the highlight reel this month.
The Nationals’ manager was ejected twice in a week, kicked off by arguing calls on June 22. When trying to show home plate umpire Doug Eddings where a pitch was, Martinez laid down on the ground in the other batter’s box.
Clearly, Martinez isn’t happy and while there isn’t much to be thrilled about in D.C., the memes and videos that his rants provide the baseball world are indeed gold.
5. Blake Snell
Snellzilla might be back.
The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner has turned back the clock and looked like his old self. Snell has been the ace of San Diego’s staff, going 3-1 with an 0.87 ERA with 53 strikeouts and just eight walks in June. The Padres are mired in mediocrity, but Snell has definitely been doing his part to get them out of it.