Raleigh, Soto slug their way to June Player of the Month honors

The third month of the 2025 season saw some impressive performances, including record-breaking months for some of the game’s biggest stars.

AL Player of the Month: Cal Raleigh, Mariners
MLB’s home run leader continued his incredible 2025 with a stellar June, slashing .300/.398/.690 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs. Up to 33 homers on the season and on pace for an AL-record-tying 62, Raleigh is trending toward shattering the single-season home run record by a catcher. His 11 homers in June were his second most in a month in his career -- behind only this May, when he hit 12. It’s been quite the year for Raleigh, and July should be particularly memorable for the AL All-Star starter and Home Run Derby participant.

NL Player of the Month: Juan Soto, Mets
After a (relatively) slow start to his Mets tenure, Soto had one of the finest months in franchise history. He posted a .322/.474/.722 slash line in June with 11 homers, tied for the third most by any Met in a calendar month. Soto’s 1.196 OPS was the best in the Majors in June, too, for hitters with at least 75 plate appearances. Perhaps surprisingly, this is Soto’s first Player of the Month honor, but it probably won’t be his last.

AL Pitcher of the Month: Hunter Brown, Astros
Brown is the only qualifying pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 this season, thanks to a dominant June from the Houston right-hander. He allowed just four runs all month in 30 1/3 innings (1.19 ERA, best in the AL) and capped the dominant stretch with seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts to power a sweep of the Phillies. After a hot second half in 2024, Brown’s continued success earned him his first Pitcher of the Month Award.

NL Pitcher of the Month: Zack Wheeler, Phillies
Wheeler closed his historic June with a masterful performance, pitching eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts against the Padres. He finished June with a MLB-best 0.58 ERA and 42 K’s in 31 innings, a month up there with a select few in franchise history. At 35 years old, Wheeler, who won his only other Pitcher of the Month honors in May 2022, is still going strong.

AL Rookie of the Month: Nick Kurtz, Athletics
The A’s have the Rookie of the Month once again after shortstop Jacob Wilson was the AL honoree in May. Kurtz didn’t make his first appearance of the month until June 9 due to a hip flexor strain, but he immediately made an impact. The slugging first baseman batted .264/.329/.597 with seven home runs in June, including a clutch game-tying dinger against the Royals and two walk-off homers in the same series against the Astros.

NL Rookie of the Month: Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers
It’s hard to win a Rookie of the Month Award in just three starts, but then again, it’s hard to imagine a better start to a pitcher’s career than the one Misiorowski had. He dazzled with five no-hit innings in his June 12 debut, then took a perfect game into the seventh June 20. The flamethrowing right-hander racked up 19 strikeouts in 16 innings in three June starts with a 1.13 ERA.

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AL Reliever of the Month: Josh Hader, Astros
Hader was heavily used in June, summoned 14 times out of the Astros' bullpen. Each time, he answered the bell. The lefty allowed just six hits and struck out 22 in 13 2/3 relief innings during a stellar month, recording nine saves -- the most in MLB in June -- and posting a 1.98 ERA. Hader was a huge reason for Houston’s 19-7 June record, the best in the Major Leagues.

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NL Reliever of the Month: David Bednar, Pirates
Bednar has turned his 2025 around after being optioned to Triple-A during the first week of the season. Since being recalled to the Majors on April 19, his ERA is just 1.95 in 28 2/3 innings. The Pittsburgh closer showed shades of his All-Star 2022 and 2023 campaigns in June, when he allowed just one unearned run in 10 innings, striking out 16, to capture NL Reliever of the Month honors.