Baseball's Best in July 2022

Issue #13

Any monthly roster like this will have its share of superstar names. July 2022 certainly does with Aaron Judge, Austin Riley, Freddie Freeman, Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and so on.

But there were also some players who really surprised us in July, perhaps none more than Matt Carpenter. His offensive numbers had been declining for three years for the Cardinals, with batting averages of .226, .186, and .169, and OPS+ marks (where 100 is league average) of 92, 79, and 63 in 2021. But the Yankees saw something, and now an already potent lineup is that much more dangerous with Carpenter rediscovering himself in NY pinstripes at age 36. He has 15 HR in 40 games, with a .311/.425/.792 slash line, with his numbers in July actually being even more Ruth-like at .356/.447/.822.

Another surprise in July was Houston's super-utility player Aledmys Diaz. I've listed him as a Utility player, as he played the most in LF but also at 1B, 2B, 3B, and DH while hitting 6 HR and 7 doubles in 20 games for a .311/.378/.649 slash line.

Harold Ramirez, Leody Taveras, and Josh Naylor also qualify as surprises on this roster. But most of the rest are big-name players who put up big-time numbers during July.

Several came close and deserve honorable mention, including a whole bunch of 3B. Honestly, what was up with third basemen during the past month? Riley was off the charts, but beyond Chapman I also had to consider Nolan Arenado (STL), Justin Turner (LAD), Alec Bohm (PHI), José Miranda (MIN), Ramón Urías (BAL), Yandy Diaz (TBR), and Josh Rojas (ARI).

Beyond 3B, a few others deserving mention include 2B Jorge Polanco (MIN), C Sean Murphy (OAK), RF Starling Marte (NYM), and CF Austin Slater (SFG).

As for the players chosen, here are some key July stats for each:

1B

• Freddie Freeman - 1.131 OPS, 6 HR, .388/.447/.684

• Josh Naylor - .974 OPS, 5 HR, .333/.365/.609

2B

• Gavin Lux - .949 OPS, 2 HR, 3 triples, .320/.416/.533

• Ketel Marte - .937 OPS, 6 HR, .262/.354/.583

3B

• Austin Riley - 1.344 OPS, 11 HR, 15 doubles, .423/.460/.885

• Matt Chapman - 1.095 OPS, 9 HR, .325/.396/.699

SS

• Corey Seager - 1.041 OPS, 8 HR, .318/.394/.647

• Trea Turner - .892 OPS, 5 HR, 3 SB, .321/.351/.541

C

• J.T. Realmuto - 1.065 OPS, 5 HR, 3 SB, .358/.423/.642

• Carson Kelly - 1.042 OPS, 4 HR, .344/.403/.639

RF

• Matt Carpenter - 1.269 OPS, 9 HR, .356/.447/.822

• Juan Soto - 1.111 OPS, 6 HR, 25 BB, .315/.495/.616

CF

• Aaron Judge - 1.253 OPS, 13 HR, 5 SB, .333/.446/.807

• Leody Taveras - .917 OPS, 2 HR, 10 doubles, 5 SB, .341/.387/.529

LF

• Kris Bryant - 1.022 OPS, 5 HR, .341/.411/.612

• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - .905 OPS, 1 HR, .382/.433/.472

DH

• Yordan Alvarez - 1.146 OPS, 7 HR, .286/.432/.714

• Harold Ramirez - 1.013 OPS, 1 HR, .400/.446/.567

Utility

• Aledmys Diaz - 1.027 OPS, 6 HR, .311/.378/.649

• D.J. LeMahieu - .951 OPS, 4 HR, .344/.462/.490

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July 2022 vs. All-Time July Records

How did hitters do this July compared to all-time records for the month of July? Here is the comparison:

HR

• 2022: 13 - Aaron Judge (NYY)

• All-Time: 16 - Albert Belle in 1998 and Mark McGwire in 1999

Batting Average

• .2022: 434 - Alec Bohm (PHI)

• All-Time: .528 - Ty Cobb in the 1912

Runs

• 2022: 25 - Aaron Judge

• All-Time: 45 - Babe Ruth in 1920

RBIs

• 2022: 32 - Aaron Judge

• All-Time: 50 - Lou Gehrig in 1930

Doubles

• 2022: 15 - Austin Riley

• All-Time: 19 - Billy Herman in 1935 and Carlos Delgado in 2000

Stolen Bases

• 2022: 9 - Ronald Acuna Jr.

• All-Time: 33 - Rickey Henderson in 1983

No one really came close to setting any July records here, though Riley's 15 doubles was impressive. Judge has been hitting a lot of HRs lately, but his HR, Runs, and RBIs weren't close to July records. And stolen bases... my how the game has changed. Acuna's running on the bases was the only thing he did well in July, as he managed to hit only 1 HR in 24 games, for a slash line of .219/.318/.281.

Pitchers in July 2022

For starting pitchers, I decided to just go with the top-10 by ERA (4+ games started):

• Dylan Cease - 0.76 ERA, 6 GS, 35.2 IP, 40 K, 1.037 WHIP, .188 BA

• Marcus Stroman - 0.89 ERA, 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 17 K, 1.082 WHIP, .213 BA

• Carlos Carrasco - 0.90 ERA, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 27 K, 1.233 WHIP, .262 BA

• Justin Verlander - 1.01 ERA, 4 GS, 26.2 IP, 32 K, 1.013 WHIP, .222 BA

• Tyler Anderson - 1.11 ERA, 5 GS, 32.1 IP, 24 K, 0.866 WHIP, .195 BA

• Reid Detmers - 1.13 ERA, 4 GS, 24.0 IP, 31 K, 0.917 WHIP, .165 BA

• Merrill Kelly - 1.31 ERA, 6 GS, 41.1 IP, 33 K, 0.774 WHIP, .168 BA

• Triston McKenzie - 1.34 ERA, 5 GS, 33.2 IP, 33 K, 0.832 WHIP, .165 BA

• Max Scherzer - 1.39 ERA, 5 GS, 32.1 IP, 45 K, 0.835 WHIP, .197 BA

• Alex Wood - 1.65 ERA, 5 GS, 27.1 IP, 28 K, 0.805 WHIP, .174 BA

Then here are five closers who were outstanding during the month of July:

• Edwin Diaz - 0.00 ERA, 7 saves, 11.1 IP, 25 K, 0.265 WHIP, .054 BA

• Jordan Romano - 0.84 ERA, 7 saves, 10.2 IP, 12 K, 0.469 WHIP, .114 BA

• Daniel Bard - 1.00 ERA, 7 saves, 9 IP, 8 K, 1.333 WHIP, .171 BA

• Emmanuel Clase - 0.90 ERA, 5 saves, 10 IP, 9 K, 0.400 WHIP, .063 BA

• Ryan Pressley - 1.80 ERA, 4 saves, 10 IP, 18 K, 0.500 WHIP, .118 BA

Look at that month for the Mets' Edwin Diaz again. Wow!

Who will make the Baseball's Best roster for August?

All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.