Hitter of the Month for June, 2015

[texasdave]

It is that time again. Another month is over. There were a number of outstanding hitting performances for the month of June. The only two criteria that I used in compiling this list is that the player have 50 or more plate appearances in the month, and the player's OPS was 15% or more higher than the league average. And, I fudged a couple of times if the player was really close and there were extenuating circumstances.

1) Seth Mejias-Brean was one of them. He only had 49 PA, but walked so many times that it brought his OBP to .469. His batting average was .212. I was impressed!
2) Junior Arias's OPS was only 14+% higher than the league average, but he stole 9 bases. He's in!
3) Jonathan Reynoso's OPS was also only 14+% higher than the league, but he stole 6 bases. He's in too!

It was pretty much a two-person race between Brian O'Grady and Gavin LaValley. When you see the chart below you will understand my thinking. It is really close though. So, I am making a poll with three options: O'Grady, LaValley or other. If you feel strongly enough that someone else should get the award, by all means, choose other and let us know why you feel that way. The chart is pretty self-explanatory. The last column (C2L) indicates how the players OPS compared to the the league he played in. If it reads 1.20, for example, it means his OPS was 20% higher than the league average. Any and all comments, suggestions et cetera are welcomed.

Now let's see if we can get this chart lined up. Bold number indicate leader in that particular category.

NAME 	TEAM	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	RS	RBI	SB 	C2L
Selsky	Lou	.345	.441	.414	.855	0	5	9	0	1.25
Falu	Lou	.320	.403	.437	.840	1	20	14	5	1.22
Suarez	Lou	.302	.350	.458	.808	3	10	15	3	1.18
Satin	Lou	.320	.400	.460	.860	2	11	12	1	1.25
YROD	Lou	.321	.374	.434	.808	3	13	19	2	1.18
										
Chang	Pen	.329	.372	.429	.800	0	7	8	0	1.15
Winker	Pen	.321	.408	.476	.884	2	11	8	3	1.27
SMB	Pen	.212	.469	.364	.833	1	4	6	0	1.19
Smith	Pen	.312	.384	.494	.877	4	11	10	2	1.26
										
										
Ramirez	DayT	.302	.330	.547	.876	3	10	12	0	1.34
Elizlde	DayT	.269	.352	.513	.864	3	12	16	1	1.32
Arias	DayT	.270	.309	.438	.747	4	14	10	9	1.14
Sparks	DayT	.267	.283	.500	.783	4	13	14	2	1.20
										
O'Grady	DayD	.320	.382	.619	1.000	6	18	22	5	1.47
Bueno	DayD	.310	.398	.410	.808	0	17	11	4	1.19
LaVally	DayD	.388	.437	.600	1.037	2	15	17	2	1.53
Reynoso	DayD	.305	.369	.407	.776	0	13	4	6	1.14

Pretty good on the chart. Now, let's see if we can get the poll attached. Since it is a holiday weekend, the poll will be open for 4 days, until Monday night. The poll is public.

[mace]

O'Grady had the power numbers, but I like the fact that LaValley stayed hot for most of the month. It had the look of a kid coming into his own. He's also three years younger than O'Grady, who was playing at the same level until his recent promotion.

[RedlegJake]

Good arguments, mace - I voted O'Grady but you might have convinced me otherwise in retrospect.

[texasdave]

O'Grady had the power numbers, but I like the fact that LaValley stayed hot for most of the month. It had the look of a kid coming into his own. He's also three years younger than O'Grady, who was playing at the same level until his recent promotion.

I am going to disagree with you here, Mace. In my mind, the HotM should simply go whoever swung the hottest bat during the month. Not who is the better prospect. That's the way that I look at it. Just one person's humble opinion.

[texasdave]

The votes are in, and Gavin LaValley was chosen by a comfortable margin over Brian O'Grady. If LaValley wins a game in walk-off fashion, I have a pretty good line ready. Come on, Gavin, git-r-done.