Shortstop Jacob Wilson of the Athletics has been voted the American League Rookie of the Month for May, and catcher Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves has been voted the National League Rookie of the Month for May. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Wilson became the first A’s rookie to win a monthly award since his teammate Zack Gelof won in August 2023. Overall he is the 11th A’s player to earn the honor, joining Carlos Peña (April 2002); Bobby Crosby (June 2004); Joe Blanton (2x: June & August 2005); Andrew Bailey (August 2009); Brett Anderson (September 2009); Jemile Weeks (June 2011); Yoenis Cespedes (September 2012); Nate Freiman (May 2013); Ryon Healy (September 2016); and Gelof. Baldwin is the first Braves rookie to take home monthly honors since his teammate Michael Harris II won in September/October 2022. Overall, Baldwin is the 12th Brave to win the award, joining Jair Jurrjens (June 2008); Tommy Hanson (June 2009); Jason Heyward (2x: April & May 2010); Craig Kimbrel (2x: June and August 2011); Freddie Freeman (July 2011); Andrelton Simmons (June 2012); Evan Gattis (2x: April & May 2013); Ronald Acuña Jr. (August 2018); Austin Riley (May 2019); Harris II (3x: June, August & September/October 2022); and Spencer Strider (July 2022). Baldwin is the ninth catcher to win the award, joining Gerald Laird (April 2004); Geovany Soto (2x: April & August 2008); Buster Posey (July 2010); Gattis; Gary Sánchez (August 2016); Yermín Mercedes (April 2021); Eric Haase (July 2021); and Francisco Alvarez (July 2023).
Jacob Wilson, Athletics (@jacobwilson)
• The 23-year-old hit .368 (39-for-106) with four homers, 16 RBI, six doubles, 11 walks, 15 runs scored, three stolen bases, a .538 slugging percentage and a .437 on-base percentage across 27 games.
• The Los Angeles, California native led qualified rookies in RBI, hits, total bases (57) and runs; ranked second in on-base percentage and extra-base hits (10); tied for second in homers and walks; ranked third in slugging and OPS (.975); and sixth in doubles.
• The sixth overall selection in the 2023 Draft had the most hits by an A’s player under the age of 24 in a single month since Eric Chavez also had 39 hits in September/October 2001. Along with his 37 hits in March/April, Wilson is the first A’s player under the age of 24 with at least 35 hits in a month multiple times in a single season since Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson in 1981 (May & September/October).
• Finally, he is the first player under the age of 24 with at least 35 hits in each of the first two months of a season since Manny Machado in 2013 with Baltimore (35 H in March/April & 44 H in May).
• The Grand Canyon University product registered his first career multi-homer game on May 13th at Dodger Stadium, finishing 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBI. He became the first A’s player aged 23-or-younger with four hits and four RBI in a game since Chavez on July 20, 2001 at Kansas City (4 H, 6 RBI).
• Wilson recorded 14 multi-hit games in the month, tied with Freddie Freeman for the most in the Majors, and racked up at least three hits in five games, including four-hit performances on May 7th and May 13th; and three-hit games on May 5th, May 24th and May 25th. He became the first A’s player under the age of 24 with back-to-back three hit games since Ryan Sweeney on September 14th-16th, 2008.
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves (@drakerbaldwin)
• The 24-year-old hit .389 (21-for-54) with three homers, nine RBI, two doubles, two walks, seven runs scored, a .593 slugging percentage and a .411 on-base percentage in 19 games.
• The Madison, Wisconsin native ranked second among qualified rookies in batting average, slugging and OPS (1.004); ranked fourth in on-base percentage; tied for fifth in homers; tied for seventh in RBI; ranked ninth in total bases (32); and 10th in hits.
• The third-round selection in the 2022 Draft became the first Braves player with at least 20 hits and fewer than five strikeouts in a single month since A.J. Pierzynski in September/October 2015 (24 H, 5 SO). Baldwin is the first catcher under the age of 25 to reach those totals in a single month since Washington’s Keibert Ruiz had 21 hits and four strikeouts in September/October 2021. Overall, he was one of three players across the Majors in May with at least 20 hits and fewer than five strikeouts, joining San Diego’s Luis Arraez (20 H, 4 SO) and Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk (27 H, 4 SO).
• The Missouri State University product hit safely in six consecutive games from May 11th-18th, and has reached base safely in 22 of his 26 starts this season, including 17 of his last 21 starts since April 4th. During the six-game hitting streak, he batted .571 (12-for-21) with two homers and six RBI, marking the most hits and most RBI in a six-game span by a Braves catcher since Pierzynski in April 2015.
• On the year, Baldwin’s .321 average is the sixth-best mark among NL hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, marking the fourth-highest batting average by a Brave through the end of May since 1900 (min. 100 PA), trailing Red Worthington (.348 in 1931); Chet Ross (.330 in 1940); and Earl Torgeson (.323 in 1947). He recorded his first career walk-off with a two-out single on May 8th against Cincinnati in the bottom of the 11th after throwing out a runner stealing second base to end the top of the 11th.
Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included catcher Dillon Dingler (.329, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 2B, 4 BB, 9 R, .461 SLG, .378 OBP) of the Detroit Tigers; outfielder Chandler Simpson (.277, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 12 R, 16 SB, .313 SLG) of the Tampa Bay Rays; catcher Carlos Narváez (.356, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 2B, 9 BB, 10 R, 1 SB, .534 SLG, .427 OBP) of the Boston Red Sox; shortstop Chase Meidroth (.276, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 2B, 11 BB, 13 R, 7 SB, .347 SLG, .349 OBP) of the Chicago White Sox; starting pitcher Logan Evans (2-1, 2.70 ERA, 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 32 H, 5 HR, 7 BB, 22 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; and starting pitcher Noah Cameron (1-1, 1.40 ERA, 3 GS, 19.1 IP, 12 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 13 SO) of the Kansas City Royals.
Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included infielder Hyeseong Kim (.422, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 13 R, 4 SB, .600 SLG, .458 OBP) and relief pitcher Ben Casparius (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 8 G, 14.2 IP, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 19 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; starting pitchers Chad Patrick (2-2, 3.32 ERA, 7 GS, 38.0 IP, 36 H, 2 HR, 7 BB, 35 SO) and Logan Henderson (2-0, 1.80 ERA, 3 GS, 15.0 IP, 11 H, 2 HR, 5 BB, 20 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; designated hitters/catchers Agustín Ramírez (.245, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 7 2B, 10 BB, 12 R, .439 SLG, .315 OBP) and Liam Hicks (.313, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 6 R, .688 SLG, .371 OBP) of the Miami Marlins; and relief pitcher Cole Henry (0.00 ERA, 12 G, 14.0 IP, 3 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 11 SO) of the Washington Nationals.