DJ LeMahieu rode a hot August to the NL lead in batting average. LeMahieu hit .439 for the month, and led the majors in OBP at .534. That mark stands 48 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Mike Trout at .486. The Rockies second baseman collected ten extra base hits for a .643 slugging percentage.

On the slugging side, the month belonged to Gary Sanchez and Kris Bryant. Sanchez hit 9 doubles and 11 home runs in route to a .389/.458/.832 slash line. Bryant played three more games with 20 more plate appearances for a .383/.472/.748 slash line. Brian Dozier led the majors in home runs with 13 and slugged .714, but didn’t have the all-around numbers of Sanchez and Bryant.

It was a good month to be a Rockies hitter as Charlie Blackmon led the majors with 30 runs scored, and Nolan Arenado drove in 36.

Note that the Rockies played a ton of home games in August, with LeMahieu playing 17 of his 25 games in Colorado. He did hit extremely well on the road, however. Bryant raked on the road, as well. LeMahieu’s great OBP is tough to ignore, so DJ LeMahieu is the Baseball Musings offensive player of the month for August 2016.

On the pitching side, two Cubs bubble to the top of the list. Kyle Hendricks led the majors with a 1.28 ERA, while Jon Lester finished third with a 1.71 ERA. Lester, however, posted much better strikeout numbers, and a better home run rate. Interestingly, high strikeout rates did not translate into low ERAs in August, as three of the top four pitchers in K per 9 IP posted ERAs over five. Masahiro Tanaka and his former teammate Ivan Nova walked batters the least, while Carlos Rodon, with the second lowest ERA in the majors, allowed the lowest home run rate.

It seems to me that Lester owns the best combination of ERA and three-true outcomes, so Jon Lester wins the Baseball Musings Pitcher of the Month for August 2016. Congratulations to both winners!