Bregman, Alvarez earn MLB's monthly awards for August performances

Alex Bregman celebrates with Yordan Alvarez after Bregman's two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park on August 22, 2019, in Houston, Texas.

HOUSTON – Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez has been named American League Rookie of the Month and Astros infielder Alex Bregman has been named AL Player of the Month.

Both were recognized for their performances during the month of August.

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Alvarez on pace to earn Rookie of the Year honor

For Alvarez, this marks the third consecutive month that he has won AL Rookie of the Month honors, becoming the first player in franchise history with this distinction and the first player from any club since Aaron Judge won the award in three straight months in 2017 (April, May, June).

For Bregman, it's his second career Player of the Month Award, with his other coming in June 2018. Bregman is the second Astros player of the month winner in 2019. Yuli Gurriel won the award for his July performance.

The Astros have now captured seven monthly awards this season. Gerrit Cole won the AL Pitcher of the Month Award for both June and July.

Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for AL Rookie of the Year honors, hit .309 in 27 games in August while leading AL rookies in HR (9), RBI (26), slugging pct. (.670), on-base pct. (.425) and OPS (1.095). For the season, Alvarez is hitting .317 in 66 games while leading AL rookies in HR (22, T-1st), RBI (63), slugging (.671), on-base pct. (.413) and OPS (1.084), using a minimum of 275 plate appearances.

Bregman’s numbers put him in AL MVP talks

In 26 games in August, Bregman led all AL hitters in batting avg. (.404), RBI (31) and on-base pct. (.487), while ranking tied for first in doubles (14) and third in OPS (1.235). He also set club records for the month in doubles, batting average and OBP (min. 100 PA) and fell three RBI shy of the August club record of 34 set by Jeff Bagwell in 2000.

Bregman’s outstanding month turned him into a candidate for AL MVP. Since Aug. 1, Bregman has raised his batting average from .259 to .295 and his OPS from .909 to .985. For the season, Bregman now ranks third in the AL in OPS, second in OBP (.416), seventh in RBI (95) and slugging pct. (.570) and tied for seventh in HR (32).