Dodgers: Best Players of July, Dodgers Way Awards
The Dodgers had a number of standout performers in July. From the players on the field to the members of the front office, July was one of the best months of the season for the Dodgers.
In July, The Boys in Blue propelled themselves to second overall in home runs, second in team ERA, third in quality starts, and sixth overall in team OPS.
In addition to the team’s outpouring of offense, the front office also had a month to remember. They worked to acquire All-Star infielder, Manny Machado from the Orioles, Brian Dozier from the Twins, and John Axford from the Blue Jays. The additions round off the bullpen and make the Dodgers infield one of, if not the, best in baseball.
While there are more deserving players than there are awards, the Dodgers Way trophy system will recognize the following: MVP, Cy Young, and Reliever of the Month. No players will be repeated on the list.
Without further ado, here are your Dodgers Way Awards for July of 2018.
There is no doubt that July’s improved statistics across the board for the Dodgers was a team effort. Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, and numerous pitchers all had a big hand in the success but there was nobody better than catcher, Yasmani Grandal in July.
Grandal came out smoking and never slowed down for the Dodgers in a month that saw him hit .364 with six of the team’s 33 homers of July.
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His .488 on-base percentage and .727 slugging percentage were tops in all of baseball and the two combined for an unreal 1.215 OPS. His league-leading numbers did not stop there. Grandal also had a BABip of .409.
Grandal’s hot month did not stop on the 31st of July either. On the first day of August, Grandal smoked two home runs, one of which was a no-doubt walk off in the tenth inning of the August first game against the Brewers.
Grandal easily wins MVP for the Dodgers in July and if he can keep his pace going in August, there is no reason to believe he won’t be recognized at the league level.
The list of potential winners here is actually pretty long. Dodgers pitching had a great month in July and the excellence did not stop at the rotation, it carried to the bullpen as well. And, since we already have a Reliever of the Month award, I thought it was fair to give the Cy Young to a starter.
Rich Hill gets the nod.
Hill had a much improved month after having a fairly slow start to the season that carried all the way through June.
But, in July, Hill pitched like the rotation’s ace. Hill pitched 26 innings that saw him strike out 31 batters while walking nine. Hill limited his ERA to 2.42 and his WHIP to just 1.115. Hill also held opposing hitter to a .208 batting average and a .589 OPS.
Hill’s season stats also saw marginal improvements due to his fantastic month. His ERA dropped to 3.82 during the stretch and his WAR increased to .7.
Rich Hill takes the Cy and if he can continue his pace, the Dodgers will get a huge boost every fifth day.
The options for the reliever of the month are pretty wide open. Kenley Jansen had a great month but choosing him when he is on his game almost feels like cheating. Daniel Hudson would have been the easy choice if he had a month like he did in June but his stats plummeted into oblivion in July making him far from eligible for this award.
Relievers like Scott Alexander and Dylan Floro had a great month but their numbers were not flashy enough to earn them the nod here.
Caleb Ferguson, however, was a sensation from the bullpen and he easily wins the award in my mind.
Ferguson was a quick riser through the system. He began 2018 in Double-A and he, like Dennis Santana, pitched his way to the major leagues due to injuries on the Show roster.
Ferguson made three appearances as a starter in the big leagues, surrendering nine runs in 10.2 innings. After being fairly unimpressive there, the Dodgers chose to move Ferguson to the pen and the move landed him on this award article.
In his 15.2 July innings as a reliever, Ferguson has a 1.20 ERA, a .667 WHIP, and a K9 rate of 10.8. These numbers moved the 22-year old lefty from a long relief role to a frequently used lefty and that too has been a great transition.
The Dodgers may have taken a flyer on a setup man at the deadline because Caleb Ferguson can get that job done with these numbers.