Sir Didi Gregorius is bringing home the American League Player of the Month honors for the month of April, and rightfully so.
There’s no denying that Gregorius was the most deserving player in the AL for this accolade as is he coming off the greatest month of his career. In April, Didi put up an astonishing .330/.422/.739 slash line to go along with his MLB leading 30 RBIs, 10 home runs (tied for 1st in the MLB) and an OPS of 1.161 (2nd in the MLB).
Stats aside, Gregorius’ production came at a time while most of the Yankees’ offense struggled. With Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez competing for who ‘will get over the Mendoza line first’, Gregorius was cleaning up the mess, as Stanton once put it.
Your AL Player of the Month:
⚔️ Didi Gregorius ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/C2AXLDQ6Vg
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 2, 2018
Gregorius also shined when it mattered most, which isn’t easy to do in pinstripes. Late in games or when the game is close, the Yankee shortstop hit .455, while also leading the league in curtain calls, including one on the road in Anaheim.
While Gregorius has never been known to draw many walks, he has walked (18) more times than struck out (16). Didi saw a dramatic spike in his OBP which currently sits at .424, good enough for 11th in baseball. His highest mark during any month last season was .327, excluding his .467 OBP in April where he only saw 15 at-bats due to injury.
If not for Gregorius’ offensive production in April, the Yankees may not be enjoying the early season success they’ve seen thus far.