July team of the Month: Bobby Witt's Hot Summer

The Team of the Month is back in article form! This time I'll be making a lineup of the nine hitters selected and a five-man rotation with a three-person bullpen for the standout pitchers of the month. Let's start with the hitters.

Offense

Outfield

For the first time this season, Aaron Judge won't be featured on the Team of the Month.  That's a testament to how well these three players performed.  In left field will be the A's Lawrence Butler, who found his power stroke (10 HR), and was a key part of the Oakland lineup (23 Runs, 27 RBIs, 2.0 fWAR).  

In the other corner outfield spot is Juan Soto of the New York Yankees, who responded to a slow end of June with a 208 wRC+ across 24 games in July.  

The last spot in the outfield goes to the Rockies' center fielder Brenton Doyle, who not only impressed at the plate (11 HR, 208 wRC+) but also shined defensively, accumulating a 1.5 Fangraphs defensive rating across 25 games.

Infield + DH

Only one player had a better offensive month than A's DH Brent Rooker.  Brent Rooker's power was on another level this month, slugging .828 with 11 HR and a 253 wRC+ for a total of 2.0 fWAR (tied for second most in July).  

At catcher, Seattle's Cal Raleigh dominated on both sides of the batter's box, accumulating a 3.2 Defensive rating while still hitting at a 154 wRC+ clip. 

At first base is Toronto's Vladdy Jr., who continues his phenomenal (and overlooked) bounce-back year.  Vladdy conquered the heat, and slashed .358/.407/.705 for a 200 wRC+ across 25 July games.  

Sliding in next to Vladdy is Arizona's Ketel Marte, who also continued his stand-out season.  Ketel finished the month with 7 HR, 23 RBIs, and a186 wRC+, the best among qualified second basemen.

Marte's teammate, Eugenio Suarez, was the standout third basemen of July, barely edging out Boston's Rafael Devers.  Suarez provided Arizona with plenty of run production in July, driving in 27 runs in only 25 games.  

At shortstop, Gunnar Henderson was finally dethroned. Bobby Witt Jr. was not only the best shortstop in July, but also the best overall player by a wide margin.  BWJ accumulated 2.7 fWAR in July, thanks to a video-game-like slash line (.489/.520/.833), elite defense, and baserunning.  Witt's had a terrific season, it's just been overshadowed by Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Judge.  That is no longer the case, as Witt now leads the league in fWAR (7.5), and is second in bWAR (7.0).

Pitching

For the first time this season, the pitching staff will have a starter for each rotation spot.  Starters are graded on their results (ERA), rather than underlying metrics (FIP).  Pitchers will also be rewarded for throwing more innings or getting out of high-leverage situations.  

George Kirby, one of the Seattles' five-headed monster, had a phenomenal July and is our ace.  Despite a poor win-loss record (1-2), Kirby shoved for the M's this month, starting 6 games while pitching to a 2.21 ERA across 36.2 innings (averaged a quality start). 

Slotting in behind Kirby is AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal, who continues to dominate.  Skubal started 5 games for the Tigers, pitched to a 2.45 ERA over 33 innings, and picked up 3 wins along the way.  

The third spot in the rotation goes to Diamondback Ryne Nelson, who pitched in six games (starting 5) in July.  Nelson--like our 1 and 2--ate innings this month, throwing 37.1 high-quality innings for the DBacks and finished the month with an ERA of 2.41.  

Following Nelson in the rotation is the Padres' Dylan Cease.  Cease continued his bounce-back season with a strong July, starting 6 games (going 4-2) for the Friars, pitching to a 2.35 ERA across 38.1 innings.

The last spot in the rotation goes to Cincinnati Red Hunter Greene.  Greene does not have the innings (27) or starts (4) that the other members of the rotation have, but they should be thankful that's the case.  Hunter Greene was the best pitcher in July, pitching to a minuscule 0.33 ERA, the best mark of any qualified starter by far. Because of the low innings pitched, he gets a ceremonial slap on the wrist and is placed as our 5th starter.

Our three relievers of the month are Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians, AJ Puk formerly of the Marlins and now a Diamondback, and Jeff Hoffman of the Phillies.  All three of these relievers led the league in July fWAR at a 0.6. Cade Smith had one bad outing, finishing with an ERA of 1.98 over 13.2 IP (12G), while Puk (12 IP, 11G) and Hoffman (10.2 IP, 10G) had a perfect ERA of 0.00.