Mr. May:Ed Lee, 1B/OF, Los Angeles Angels. In his sophomore season, Lee put up huge numbers in May (.312 average, 11 homers, 33 RBIs, 1.071 OPS) and he has already doubled his WAR (2.2) from last season (1.1). He’s also leading the league in homeruns with 22 total.
Cy May:Felix Hernandez, RHP, Seattle Mariners. The King was perfect in May as he pitched comfortably on his throne. The 34-year-old had an incredible month with six wins in six starts and a 2.79 ERA over 42 innings.
World Series (in May) winner:Detroit Tigers. We can’t say enough about this club, they are one of the hottest teams in the Majors as they finish #1 in the recent Power Rankings. It seems that they are trying to get a hammer-lock on the AL Central. Their pitching staff is ranked 1st in the AL in most categories, spearheaded by the trio of Brandon Maurer (8-3, 2.93 ERA), newly acquired in the off-season, Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.89 ERA) & former Rule V draft pick, Blake Snell (6-1, 1.17 ERA).
May’s Child:Luis Diaz, 1B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals. The 6-foot-4 wonder kid is helping to make the Redbirds lineup one to fear. Diaz hit .322 with 6 homers and 22 RBIs. That’s good enough for our Rookie of the Month vote.
Who the Heck?Dylan Cozens, LF/RF, Philadelpha Phillies. At 26 years of age, Cozens is finally enjoying a breakout year after being drafted by the Phillies in 2012. He had a short stint in the Majors in 2017 but had to hone his skills some more in AAA. For the month, he hit .314 with 12 homers, 25 RBIs and an OPS of 1.085, cementing himself as an everyday outfielder.
May Management:Ray Hayward, Tigers. After opening the month with a 3-game series loss to the Royals, the Tigers roared back with a couple of lengthy winning streaks during May: a 5-game winning streak against the Rockies and Spiders, and a 7-game winning streak against the Rays and the Mariners. With the way things are going, the contract extension in 2 years might not be far behind and his salary would likely breach the million dollar mark.
The Injury Bug:Ted Burton, RHP, Boston Red Sox. Yes, the Reds miss their closer Max Milligan, the Pirates are longing for a healthy season from their ace Jameson Taillon (who suffered his 3rd straight season ending injury), and the Yankees will miss Danny Hultzen. But Burton was finally settling in this May with a 2-1 record and a respectable 3.41 ERA. Unfortunately, the bone chips in his elbow will sideline him for 3 months. Can the Red Sox catch up with the Blue Jays in the next quarter without their up and coming starter?
May’s Magic Moments:
200th career win – Felix Hernandez
300th career home run – Troy Tulowitzki
Cycle – Nolan Arenado, Tyrone Taylor
20+ game hitting streak – Leury Garcia (20 games), Kolten Wong (24 games), Christian Walker (21 games)
5 hits – Willy Adames, Corey Seager
Shutout – Ben Eckels (3-hit), Derrek McGriff (2-hit), Pierce Johnson (1-hit), Jacob Turner (4-hit)
3 HRs – Xander Bogaerts (3 HR), Rafael Devers (3 HR)
8 RBIs – Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado
Mr. May: Ed Lee, 1B/OF, Los Angeles Angels. In his sophomore season, Lee put up huge numbers in May (.312 average, 11 homers, 33 RBIs, 1.071 OPS) and he has already doubled his WAR (2.2) from last season (1.1). He’s also leading the league in homeruns with 22 total.
Cy May: Felix Hernandez, RHP, Seattle Mariners. The King was perfect in May as he pitched comfortably on his throne. The 34-year-old had an incredible month with six wins in six starts and a 2.79 ERA over 42 innings.
World Series (in May) winner: Detroit Tigers. We can’t say enough about this club, they are one of the hottest teams in the Majors as they finish #1 in the recent Power Rankings. It seems that they are trying to get a hammer-lock on the AL Central. Their pitching staff is ranked 1st in the AL in most categories, spearheaded by the trio of Brandon Maurer (8-3, 2.93 ERA), newly acquired in the off-season, Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.89 ERA) & former Rule V draft pick, Blake Snell (6-1, 1.17 ERA).
May’s Child: Luis Diaz, 1B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals. The 6-foot-4 wonder kid is helping to make the Redbirds lineup one to fear. Diaz hit .322 with 6 homers and 22 RBIs. That’s good enough for our Rookie of the Month vote.
Who the Heck? Dylan Cozens, LF/RF, Philadelpha Phillies. At 26 years of age, Cozens is finally enjoying a breakout year after being drafted by the Phillies in 2012. He had a short stint in the Majors in 2017 but had to hone his skills some more in AAA. For the month, he hit .314 with 12 homers, 25 RBIs and an OPS of 1.085, cementing himself as an everyday outfielder.
May Management: Ray Hayward, Tigers. After opening the month with a 3-game series loss to the Royals, the Tigers roared back with a couple of lengthy winning streaks during May: a 5-game winning streak against the Rockies and Spiders, and a 7-game winning streak against the Rays and the Mariners. With the way things are going, the contract extension in 2 years might not be far behind and his salary would likely breach the million dollar mark.
The Injury Bug: Ted Burton, RHP, Boston Red Sox. Yes, the Reds miss their closer Max Milligan, the Pirates are longing for a healthy season from their ace Jameson Taillon (who suffered his 3rd straight season ending injury), and the Yankees will miss Danny Hultzen. But Burton was finally settling in this May with a 2-1 record and a respectable 3.41 ERA. Unfortunately, the bone chips in his elbow will sideline him for 3 months. Can the Red Sox catch up with the Blue Jays in the next quarter without their up and coming starter?