Jayson Werth Named NL Player of the Month

Jul 20, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder

(28) is congratulated by teammates after hitting the game-winning RBI double in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

When Jayson Werth started the month of July with nine hits, two home runs and eight RBIs in just 14 at bats, it certainly looked like the Nationals’ right fielder was headed for a solid month at the plate.

Werth was rewarded for his hot start to the month with National League Player of the Week honors for the week of July 1-6. Now, Werth has been recognized again, this time as the NL Player of the Month.

The right fielder was a force at the plate all month long for the Nationals as he helped lead Washington to a 14-10 record in July. Werth led the NL in RBIs (24) and WAR (1.6) and tied for first in the league with 11 doubles and 17 extra-base. Werth was dominant all around, batting .337 with six homers, a .446 on-base percentage and a .687 slugging percentage.

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The Nationals’ offense struggled to score runs at times throughout the month, but Werth was productive all month long. He led the team in home runs, slugging percentage, wOBA and WAR.

Werth not only provided the Nationals with consistency at the plate, but the veteran also provided several clutch hits — something we haven’t seen a lot of this season from Nationals hitters. Of the 24 runs Werth drove in in July, six were game-winning RBIs — good for first in the NL. Werth has been clutch all season long as the outfielder leads the Nationals with 13 game-winning RBIs this season. July has been kind to Werth the last couple of years as he was named NL Player of the Month last July, too.

July was an up and down month for the Nationals as the team only managed to pick up two games on the Braves despite Atlanta finishing the month at 13-13. But, although it wasn’t exactly a spectacular month for the team, Werth was consistently productive at the plate and the Nationals likely would not have picked up those two games without him. We can only hope that the right-fielder picks up right where he left off this month and finishes strong down the stretch.