Manoah named AL Rookie of the Month

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah has been named American League Rookie of the Month for September/October.

October 4, 2021

Official Major League Baseball News Release

For the second consecutive month, first baseman Frank Schwindel of the Chicago Cubs has been voted the National League Rookie of the Month, and starting pitcher Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays has been voted the American League Rookie of the Month for September/October. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Schwindel earned his second consecutive NL Rookie of the Month Award and it marks the Cubs’ third rookie honour this season, along with Patrick Wisdom in June. Frank is the first Cubs rookie since the award was introduced in 2001 to win consecutive honours, and is the first NL position player to do so since Juan Soto in June and July 2018. Manoah claimed his first monthly award and is Toronto’s first winner since his teammate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in July 2018.

Frank Schwindel, Chicago Cubs

• Posted a slash line of .344/.388/.600 with 26 runs scored, 43 hits, 11 doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBI across 29 games played.

• Recorded a career-best 13-game hitting streak from September 10th-24th, matching the longest stretch by a Cubs player this season (also Kris Bryant).

• Tallied the go-ahead RBI in four straight games from September 3rd-6th, joining Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda (1967) as the only players in the expansion era to accomplish the feat.

• Plated 30 runs across his first 33 games with the Cubs, joining Joe Pepitone (1970) and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson (during his NL MVP-winning 1987 season) as the only Cubs in the last 60 years to tally 30-or-more RBI in their first 33 contests with the Club.

Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays

• Recorded a perfect 4-0 record across six starts with the Blue Jays. Posted a 3.38 ERA with 41 strikeouts, 15 walks and 23 hits over 37 1/3 innings pitched.

• On September 13th against the Tampa Bay Rays, tossed 8.0-shutout innings with 10 strikeouts while not allowing a walk and permitting just one hit. Also held the opposition to just one hit across 7.0 innings in his final outing of the season against the Baltimore Orioles on October 2nd.

• Finished his impressive campaign with a 3.22 ERA, tied with Aaron Sanchez (2015) for the second-lowest by a rookie in team history, trailing only Juan Guzman’s 2.99 ERA in 1991.

• Manoah’s 127 strikeouts on the season were the most in a pitcher’s first 20 career games in franchise history, while his four outings with 10-or-more punchouts were also the most in Club history.

Others receiving votes for NL Rookie of the Month included the September/October NL Reliever of the Month Camilo Doval (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 15 G, 20 SO) of the San Francisco Giants; outfielder Jesús Sánchez (.266, 15 R, 8 HR, 19 RBI) of the Miami Marlins; and infielder Jonathan India (.266, 19 R, 15 XBH, 10 RBI) of the Cincinnati Reds.

Others receiving votes for AL Rookie of the Month included outfielder Jarred Kelenic (.248, 6 2B, 7 HR, 20 RBI) and starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 33.1 IP, 31 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; shortstop Wander Franco (.338, 11 R, 22 H, 9 XBH) of the Tampa Bay Rays; last month’s winner Bobby Dalbec (.247, 11 R, 5 2B, 7 HR) of the Boston Red Sox; first baseman Gavin Sheets (.282, 13 R, 5 HR, 18 RBI) of the Chicago White Sox; and starter Joe Ryan (2-1, 4.05 ERA, 30 SO, 5 BB) of the Minnesota Twins.