Cincinnati Reds: Aristides Aquino honored after historic August

Unsurprisingly, Cincinnati Reds rookie sensation Aristides Aquino took home both the NL Player of the Month and NL Rookie of the Month in August.

Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that Cincinnati Reds rookie Aristides Aquino was named the National League Player of the Month for August. The Punisher also took Rookie of the Month honors for the National League. Aquino had a month that Reds fans won’t soon forget and that may never be matched.

Aquino slashed .320/.391/.767 in August and shattered about every Major League record for a rookie. The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic was the fastest player ever to reach 10 home runs. The Punisher sent out another long ball last night and became the quickest to ever reach 15 home runs.

Pete Alonso, who’ll likely be the run away winner of the NL Rookie of the Year has won Rookie of the Month twice this season. In April, Alonso had 9 home runs and 26 RBIs while hitting .292. June was another good month for the New York Mets rookie, slashing .307/.435/.653 with 9 homers.

The other two rookies to take home NL Rookie of the Month honors this season were Keston Hiura of the Milwaukee Brewers in July and Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves. Aquino is already off to a good start for the month of September with a solo shot in last night’s game bringing his total to 15 dingers on the year.

As for the National League Player of the Month honors, Aquino has entered some elite company. The last Cincinnati Reds player to take home that distinction was Scooter Gennett. The Reds second baseman was named the NL Player of the Month in May of last year after hitting .298 with 8 home runs and 26 RBIs. Before Gennett, it was Jay Bruce back in May of 2011.

The game on August 10th in which Aristides Aquino hit three home runs in three consecutive at-bats may be the most memorable moment for the Reds this season. In a season that has had little to cheer about, Aquino’s three home run night against the division-rival Chicago Cubs was pretty special.

Aquino currently owns a 1.5 WAR, ranking him eighth on the team and tied with first baseman Joey Votto. Though it’s doubtful that he surpasses Eugenio Suárez, who leads all position players in that category with 2.9 WAR, he could pass José Iglesias (1.6), Michael Lorenzen (1.8) and Anthony DeSclafani (2.2) before the season is up.