Catcher Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners has been voted the American League Player of the Month presented by Chevrolet for June, and outfielder Juan Soto of the New York Mets has been voted the National League Player of the Month presented by Chevrolet for June. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Raleigh won his first career award and is the first Mariner to win the award since his teammate Julio Rodríguez won in August 2023. He is the first backstop to win a monthly award in either league since Gary Sánchez won in August 2016 for the New York Yankees. Soto also earned his first career honor and is the second Met to be recognized this season, joining Pete Alonso, who won for March/April. Soto is the first Mets outfielder to win a monthly award since Howard Johnson won in September 1991 and it is the second time the Mets have won multiple honors in a single season, joining 1985 when Keith Hernandez won in July and Hall of Famer Gary Carter followed in September.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (@calraleigh_)
The 28-year-old hit .300 (30-for-100) with 11 homers, 27 RBI, six doubles, 16 walks, 22 runs scored, three stolen bases, a .690 slugging percentage and a .398 on-base percentage across 26 games.
The Cullowhee, North Carolina native led the Majors in extra-base hits (17) and total bases (69); tied for the Major League lead in homers and RBI; ranked third in slugging and OPS (1.088); and tied for fifth in runs.
The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner has a Major League-leading 33 home runs, which are the most by a primary catcher before the All-Star Break in Major League history, surpassing the previous mark of 28 set by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1970. Additionally, his 31 homers are the most by a switch-hitter before the All-Star Break, surpassing the previous mark of 29, accomplished four times by José Ramírez (2018); Lance Berkman (2002); and Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle (2x: 1956 & 1961).
The third-round selection in the 2018 Draft became the seventh player (20th occurrence) in Mariners’ history with at least 30 hits and 10 homers in a calendar month and the first since Nelson Cruz in June 2018 (31 H, 11 HR). Raleigh launched five homers in a five-game stretch from June 17th-23rd, homering in a career-best four consecutive games from June 20th-23rd. He is one of six players in the Majors with a homer in four straight games this season and became the first Mariner to accomplish the feat since Jarred Kelenic in April 2023.
The Florida State University product was named AL Player of the Week twice during the month, garnering co-honors on June 2nd and sole honors on June 23rd. He recorded multiple hits eight times, including three-hit performances on June 17th against Boston and June 20th at Wrigley Field. On June 17th, he tied his career high with six RBI, joining a six-RBI performance on August 21, 2023, and his seven games in June with multiple hits and multiple RBI were the most in the Majors. His 15 such games this season are second-most in the Majors, trailing only Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs.
Last night, Raleigh was named the starting catcher for the AL All-Stars, marking his first career All-Star nod. Additionally, he became Seattle’s first-ever fan-elected starting backstop and the ninth different Mariners player to garner a fan-elected starting assignment (30th selection in total), joining Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez; 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee Ichiro Suzuki; Alex Rodriguez; Bret Boone; Robinson Canó; Cruz; and John Olerud. Raleigh will also participate in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, becoming the eighth Mariner to compete in the event (16th Seattle appearance) and the 11th catcher (13th occurrence).
Juan Soto, New York Mets (@juansoto_25)
The 26-year-old hit .322 (29-for-90) with 11 homers, 20 RBI, three doubles, 25 walks, 25 runs scored, two stolen bases, a .722 slugging percentage and a .474 on-base percentage in 27 games.
The Dominican Republic native paced the Majors in walks and OPS (1.196); tied for the Major League lead in homers; ranked second in slugging and runs scored; ranked third in on-base percentage; and tied for third in total bases (65).
The four-time All-Star became the second Mets player with at least 10 homers and 20 walks in a calendar month, joining Darryl Strawberry, who had 20 homers and 24 walks in May 1987. Additionally, Soto recorded the second-highest OPS in Mets history within a calendar month, also trailing only Strawberry, who had a 1.209 OPS in June 1990. He became the first player in the Majors to reach at least 10 homers,
20 RBI, 25 walks and 25 runs scored in a calendar month since Aaron Judge in September 2017 (15 HR, 32 RBI, 28 BB, 29 R).
The 2019 World Series Champion with Washington racked up four hits including a pair of home runs on June 21st at Philadelphia, marking his fourth career game with at least four hits and four RBI. He added another two-homer game on June 25th against Atlanta, marking his 27th career multi-homer game, surpassing Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx for the most multi-homer games before turning 27. On June 27th at Pittsburgh, he connected with a solo homer and drew a walk, marking his 106th career game with one of each, passing Mike Trout (105) and tying Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews for the most such games before turning 27.
The five-time Silver Slugger notched his 1,000th career hit on June 19th at Atlanta, joining Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Mel Ott as the only players in Major League history to eclipse 1,000 hits and 700 walks prior to turning 27. He appeared in his 1,000th career game on June 7th at Colorado, joining Hall of Famers Ted Williams (220 HR, 908 BB) and Frank Thomas (238 HR, 829 BB) as the only players to reach those totals within their first 1,000 career games.
The 2020 Tony Gwynn NL Batting Champion reached base safely in each of his first 12 games of the month and reached base safely in 25 of his 27 contests overall, tallying a hit in 18 of the games. Overall, he has reached base safely in 73 contests this season, tied for fifth most in the Majors with Raleigh, and has reached base safely multiple times in 50 games, tied with Shohei Ohtani for the fourth-most games across the Majors this year. Soto had two separate five-game hitting streaks, stretching from June 8th-13th and June 25th-29th.
Others receiving votes for NL Player of the Month presented by Chevrolet included third baseman Eugenio Suárez (.315, 11 HR, 27 RBI, 5 2B, 2 BB, 13 R, .728 SLG) and NL All-Star starting second baseman Ketel Marte (.330, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 15 BB, 5 2B, 24 R, .650 SLG, .414 OBP) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; NL All-Star starting outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (.360, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 3 2B, 23 BB, 26 R, 4 SB, .596 SLG, .491 OBP) of the Atlanta Braves; shortstop Elly De La Cruz (.344, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 14 BB, 24 R, 5 SB, .656 SLG, .427 OBP) of the Cincinnati Reds; catcher Hunter Goodman (.342, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 6 2B, 2 3B, 4 BB, 15 R, .734 SLG) of the Colorado Rockies; third baseman Max Muncy (.333, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 19 BB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 22 R, 2 SB, .654 SLG, .459 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; NL All-Star starting outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (.240, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 6 2B, 4 BB, 16 R, 8 SB, .490 SLG) of the Chicago Cubs; and NL All-Star starting third baseman Manny Machado (.265, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 3 2B, 9 BB, 13 R, 1 SB, .478 SLG) of the San Diego Padres.
Others receiving votes for AL Player of the Month presented by Chevrolet included designated hitter Yandy Díaz (.400, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 4 2B, 1 3B, 11 BB, 16 R, .610 SLG, .469 OBP) of the Tampa Bay Rays; AL All-Star starting outfielder Riley Greene (.360, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 9 2B, 7 BB, 16 R, .630 SLG, .404 OBP) of the Detroit Tigers; center fielder Byron Buxton (.310, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 5 2B, 17 R, 6 SB, .678 SLG, .408 OBP) of the Minnesota Twins; and outfielder Jo Adell (.293, 11 HR, 19 RBI, 1 2B, 7 BB, 20 R, 2 SB, .663 SLG) of the Los Angeles Angels.
