Players of the Month: Goldschmidt shakes off rough start to take June honor

It was only a matter of time before Paul Goldschmidt got himself going.

After a slow start to his 2018 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman woke up to put together a fantastic June and win National League Player of the Month.

Over 126 plate appearances in June, the 30-year-old Goldschmidt slashed an impeccable .364/.460/.738 with 10 homers, 23 RBIs, and 19 extra-base hits. He also had a pair of multi-homer games on June 9 and 10, and raised his season OPS by almost 200 points thanks to his play this month.

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman took home the AL Player of the Month award by hitting a ridiculous .306/.372/.713 with 11 homers, nine doubles, 30 RBIs, and 24 runs scored over the past 30 days. The highlight of Bregman's month came June 27, when he launched a mammoth walk-off homer against Toronto. The 24-year-old was also named AL Player of the Week on Monday.

Bregman and Goldschmidt are both first-time winners of the league's monthly honors.

Here are the rest of the players honored for dominating June:

Pitchers of the Month

Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale couldn't be tamed in June, grabbing the AL Pitcher of the Month award for the third time. The AL's strikeout leader racked up 60 of his 164 Ks this past month while walking only nine, and posted a 1.76 ERA and 0.756 WHIP over his 41 innings. He punctuated his stellar month by tossing seven shutout innings in consecutive starts against the Mariners and Yankees this past week.

Chicago Cubs southpaw Jon Lester earned the Senior Circuit's monthly honor for pitchers after going a perfect 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA, 0.844 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .155 with a .477 OPS off him in June, and he allowed only five extra-base hits. This is Lester's third time winning Pitcher of the Month since joining the Cubs in 2015, and his sixth overall win.

Rookies of the Month

To little surprise, Washington Nationals teenage sensation Juan Soto was named the NL's Rookie of the Month. Baseball's youngest player looked more like a seasoned veteran in June, hitting .317/.440/.610 with six homers, six doubles, 15 RBIs, and 19 runs scored, while walking 18 times in his 100 plate appearances.

A New York Yankees rookie was voted the AL's top rookie for a second consecutive month, but this time it wasn't Gleyber Torres. Third baseman Miguel Andujar earned the prize for June after hitting .264/.302/.560 while leading all first-year players in home runs (seven), RBIs (20), and extra-base hits (13).

Relievers of the Month

Seattle Mariners closer Edwin Diaz continued his stellar season by earning Reliever of the Month for the second time this year, having previously won it in April. The 24-year-old converted 12 saves for the streaking Mariners and pitched to a sparkling 1.88 ERA and 0.977 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and only two walks.

In the NL, Miami Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough won the NL Reliever of the Month award following a scorching-hot 30-day stretch. Opponents hit a meager .028 (1-for-36) against him in June, and only three hitters managed to reach base against him. Barraclough didn't allow a run in 12 innings, while striking out 12 and converting all seven of his save opportunities.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)