Sean Manaea named AL Pitcher of the Month for June 2021

The Oakland A’s went 17-9 in June, and their starting rotation was a leading factor behind that success. Now one has been recognized nationally for the strong effort, with far more than the Team Trident.

On Friday the A’s announced that Sean Manaea was named AL Pitcher of the Month for June.

In five starts, Manaea allowed a total of four runs. The lefty began the month by tossing a shutout in Seattle, then extended that scoreless streak to 16 innings before finally snapping it in his third start. He finished up with strong efforts at Yankee Stadium and then Oracle Park against the MLB-best Giants.

Click the link on each date to revisit the Game Recap.

• 6/2 @ SEA: 9 ip, 0 runs, 8 Ks, 2 BB, 4 hits
• 6/9 vs. ARI: 6 ip, 0 runs, 3 Ks, 2 BB, 2 hits
• 6/14 vs. LAA: 5⅔ ip, 1 run, 5 Ks, 1 BB, 9 hits, 1 HR
• 6/20 @ NYY: 5⅓ ip, 2 runs, 11 Ks, 2 BB, 3 hits
• 6/25 @ SFG: 6 ip, 1 run, 7 Ks, 3 BB, 3 hits

Add it up and you get a sparkling line for June, including a nod of approval from Statcast’s batted ball metrics.

• Manaea, June: 1.13 ERA, 32 ip, 34 Ks, 10 BB, 1 HR, 21 hits, 2.38 FIP, .272 xwOBA

Of course, his brilliance didn’t end on the mound. Manaea got the chance to bat at a National League park against the Giants, and he notched hits in both plate appearances with a double and an infield single.

• Manaea, June: 2-for-2, double

In addition to Manaea’s latest honor, Lou Trivino was also named AL Reliever of the Month for June.

This is the second time Manaea has won Pitcher of the Month, with the first coming in April 2018 after he threw his no-hitter, and a lot has happened since then. A few months after winning that first award he had shoulder surgery that cost him the rest of 2018 and most of the 2019 season, and upon his return he operated with reduced velocity through the end of 2020. But he finally got the rest of his zip back this year and is putting up a career-best performance.

• Manaea, 2020: 3.13 ERA, 97⅔ ip, 102 Ks, 25 BB, 10 HR, 3.20 FIP, .311 xwOBA

This is the 26th time that Oakland has won Pitcher of the Month since it began in 1975, with the most recent being Chris Bassitt in September 2020. Manaea joins Dave Stewart (3), Mark Mulder (3), Barry Zito (3), and Sonny Gray (2) as pitchers who have received the award multiple times in an A’s uniform. Here’s the full list.

• 8/1979: Rick Langford
• 4/1981: Matt Keough
• 6/1985: Jay Howell
• 6/1987: Steve Ontiveros
• 4/1986: Dave Stewart
• 7/1989: Mike Moore
• 4/1990: Dave Stewart (2)
• 9/1990: Dave Stewart (3)
• 9/2000: Tim Hudson
• 7/2001: Mark Mulder
• 8/2001: Barry Zito
• 9/2001: Barry Zito (2)
• 6/2002: Mark Mulder (2)
• 8/2002: Cory Lidle
• 6/2004: Mark Mulder (3)
• 7/2005: Barry Zito (3)
• 8/2006: Esteban Loaiza
• 5/2007: Dan Haren
• 6/2013: Bartolo Colon
• 4/2014: Sonny Gray
• 7/2014: Sonny Gray (2)
• 7/2015: Scott Kazmir
• 5/2016: Rich Hill
• 4/2018: Sean Manaea
• 9/2020: Chris Bassitt
• 6/2021: Sean Manaea (2)

Cheers to Manaea on an amazing June! Between this award, and an ERA and fWAR that both rank sixth among AL starters this year, the next question is whether he might be on his way to his first All-Star Game in July.