Cincinnati Reds rookie right fielder Aristides Aquino just continues to add up the hardware and records this season. Today he added the National League Player of the Month and National League Rookie of the Month Awards to his stash.
In 29 games during August all he did was hit .320/.391/.767. That came along with 4 doubles and 14 home runs. He also scored 22 runs, drove in 33 runs, and he stole two bases just to add some sprinkles on top.
For Aristides Aquino, it’s been a week where he’s been collecting awards. He was named as the Louisville Bats co-MVP along with Brian O’Grady, too. Not quite as cool as bringing home Major League awards, but the recognition for his work certainly is nice. Aquino was also named the Triple-A International League Rookie of the Year for his contributions for the Bats in 2019.
Let’s take a quick look at the records that Aristides Aquino set during his tear through the National League in August.
- He holds the record for fewer career games to reach 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 home runs.
- First player to reach 13 career home runs in 100 plate appearances.
- Only National League rookie to ever hit 14 home runs in a calendar month.
Aristides Aquino is the first player to win both the Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month Award in the National League since former Red Yasiel Puig did so back in 2013 when he was with the Dodgers. Prior to that it was Buster Posey in 2010, and then Ryan Braun in 2007. The Rookie of the Month award has only been awarded since the 2001 season. Hat tip to Joel Luckhaupt on that information.
@matthew,
I think Alonso has that wrapped up and pre-ordered for delivery.
If Aquino ends the year with 25 homers and a 1.100 ops over two months, plus the 28 homers in Louisville, I can certainly see a justification to give him some votes, particularly if Alonso doesn’t make it to 50. Obviously minor league numbers don’t count officially, but they could be hard to forget if he were to eclipse 50 total homers in ~130 games.