Aaron Judge, Clay Holmes Awarded for Dominant May Performances
A pair of Yankees were recognized for their spectacular May performances on Friday.
Aaron Judge was named the American League Player of the Month, while Clay Holmes won Reliever of the Month. The National League honors went to Cardinals 1B Paul Goldschmidt and Pirates RP David Bednar.
Judge used the month of May to build an early MVP case in a contract year, crushing 12 home runs while hitting .311 with a 1.077 OPS. Judge’s home run total tied Dodgers star Mookie Betts for the most in May, and his OPS and 25 RBI ranked second in the American League.
Judge leads the majors with 19 home runs and a .659 slugging percentage overall.
Holmes, meanwhile, has taken kindly to the closer’s role in New York (though he had some hiccups Thursday) ever since Aroldis Chapman struggled and subsequently landed on the injured list. Holmes didn’t allow a run over 14 innings in May, adding 15 strikeouts, zero walks, four saves and a 3-0 record.
Overall, Holmes has seven saves and a 0.35 ERA over 25.2 innings. He has not allowed a run since his first appearance of the season on April 8.
Nestor Cortes gave the Yankees a shot at sweeping the May awards in the AL, recording a 1.95 ERA over five starts last month. While Cortes received votes, Rangers starter Martín Pérez won the American League Pitcher of the Month award after going 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA over six starts. Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler won the NL award.
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