Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who was named to the 2012 N.L. All-Star squad on Sunday, has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for June. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor for 23 of 30 MLB clubs, is also the presenting sponsor of the American League Player of the Month Award.
In 27 games during June, McCutchen hit .370 (40-for-108), the third-highest batting average among qualifying Major Leaguers and the second-best in the National League, and his 73 total bases were tied with Robinson Cano for the most in the Majors. His 40 hits led the N.L. while his 26 RBI ranked second and his seven home runs were tied for third. McCutchen, who will make his second consecutive Midsummer Classic appearance in Kansas City, recorded the league’s fourth-best slugging percentage (.732) and sixth-highest on-base percentage (.420), while his 19 runs scored tied for sixth. In addition, the Fort Mead, Florida native added four stolen bases to his monthly totals. On June 29th, McCutchen tied a season high with four hits, going 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, three RBI and four runs scored in a 14-5 victory over the N.L. Central-rival St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. On June 21st, McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and three RBI in a 9-1 win over the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park. During Interleague play, McCutchen hit .368 (21-for-57) with four doubles, three home runs, eight runs scored and 12 RBI in a span of 15 games against American League opponents from June 8th-24th. The 11th overall pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft began June with a six-game hitting streak and reached base safely in 25 of 27 contests last month. Among N.L. center fielders, McCutchen ranks first in batting average (.346), home runs (15), RBI (51), on-base percentage (.401) and slugging percentage (.593) this season. Among all N.L. players, he ranks fifth in hitting and his 166 total bases rank fourth overall. This is the first monthly award for the 25-year-old and the first by a Pirate since Jason Bay won in May 2006.
Other players receiving votes included Arizona’s Aaron Hill (.370, 37 H, 9 2B, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R, .700 SLG, .402 OBP), who hit for the cycle two times during the month, and Paul Goldschmidt (.341, 9 2B, 7 HR, 16 RBI, .732 SLG); Cincinnati’s Joey Votto (.392, 38 H, 11 2B, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 20 R, .691 SLG, .487 OBP); Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun (.319, 30 H, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 15 R, .617 SLG, .390 OBP); Ike Davis (.264, 8 2B, 16 R, 6 HR, 24 RBI, .363 OBP) of the New York Mets; and Atlanta’s Jason Heyward (.348, 31 H, 9 2B, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 18 R, .674 SLG, .379 OBP). The Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month, Andrew McCutchen, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishment.