Bregman named AL Player of the Month
After a torrid finish to a June in which he drove in 30 runs and hit 11 home runs, Alex
Bregman was named American League Player of the Month on Monday.
Bregman slashed .306/.372/ .713 in 108 at-bats and, in the final six games of the month, went 12-for-25.
Twenty-one of his 33 hits went for extra bases, including nine doubles and a triple to go along with his 11 homers. He raised his OPS from .790 to .896 in 121 June plate appearances.
With 16 home runs and 53 RBIs on the season, Bregman now trails only Evan Gattis (17 and 56) for the Astros’ team lead in both categories.
Gattis was perhaps Bregman’s stiffest competition for the AL’s monthly honor. Both drove in 30 runs, establishing a franchise record for June. The 60 RBIs were tied for the fourth most by an Astros duo in any month in franchise history.
Bregman is the second Astro to garner a Player of the Month honor this season. Justin Verlander was named AL Pitcher of the Month in April.
Altuve leads vote; Correa gains at SS
Jose Altuve’s fourth consecutive All-Star start is all but cemented.
His three fellow Astros infielders are in a battle to join him.
Altuve remained the leading vote-getter among all major league players, Monday’s ballot update revealed. He had gar-
nered 3,405,815 votes, joining Red Sox outfielder Mookie
Betts as the only players to eclipse 3 million.
Gleyber Torres, who sits in second place among American League second basemen, has not eclipsed 1 million votes.
First baseman Yuli Gurriel, third baseman Alex Bregman and shortstop Carlos Correa all sit in second place at their respective positions.
Correa, currently on the disabled list with back soreness, is in the tightest race. He trails Orioles star Manny Machado by 137,081 votes. Gurriel trails White Sox slugger Jose Abreu by 224,153 votes, while Jose Ramirez holds a 761,532-vote lead over Bregman.
Fan voting for All-Star starters concludes at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
14 international players signed
On the first day of the international signing period, the Astros announced the signing of 14 prospects — eight from the Dominican Republic, five from Venezuela and one from Cuba.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but the Astros are prohibited from signing any one player for more than $300,000 this period — a penalty for exceeding their international pool last season.
They signed five outfielders ( Frank Perez of Ciego de Avila, Cuba; Jairo Jose of Santo Dominto Este, D.R.; Jesus Liranzo of Santo Domingo, D.R.; Omar Diaz of Santo Domingo Este, D.R.; and Tomas Ramirez of Santo Domingo, D.R.), five righthanded pitchers ( Carlos Calderon of San Cristobal, D.R.; Daniel Pacheco of Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela; Danny Subero of Caracas, Venezuela; Johangel Ramirez of Maturin, Venezuela; and Reimy Beltre of Bonao, D.R.), three shortstops ( Ayendy Ortiz of San Pedro de Macoris, D.R.; Cristian Gonzalez of Azua, D.R.; and Yohander Martinez of Caracas, Venezuela), and one catcher ( Miguel Palma of Caracas, Venezuela). None of the 14 signees was listed among MLB.com's top 30 international prospects.