Anderson, Lindor honored with A.L. monthly awards
Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor has been named American League Rookie of the Month and starting pitcher Cody Anderson has been voted the American League Pitcher of the Month for September..
Lindor batted .362 (38-for-105) with 17 runs scored, eight doubles, four triples, five home runs, 20 RBI and five stolen bases over 27 games to claim his first AL monthly award. He is the first Indians player to win AL Rookie of the Month honors since starting pitcher Scott Lewis in September 2008. Among qualified AL rookies, Francisco finished first in hits, doubles and stolen bases, second in runs scored and triples, third in batting average and slugging percentage (.657), tied for third in home runs and sixth in on-base percentage (.395).
On September 16th against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field, Lindor went 3-for-4 with one run scored, a home run and four RBI. The Caguas, Puerto Rico native collected his 100th hit in that game, his 82nd career game, to become the sixth-fastest of any player in Cleveland history dating back to at least 1914. However, the switch-hitting shortstop joined Roy Weatherly as the only Indians players to accomplish the feat in one season. Moreover, Cleveland's first round pick (8th overall) in the 2011 MLB Draft hit .313 (122-for-390) on the season, the highest single-season mark by an Indians rookie with at least 300 plate appearances since 1938 when Jeff Heath batted .343 (172-for-502). His 38 extra-base hits are most by any Indians rookie since Luis Valbuena tallied 38 during the 2009 season, while his 122 base hits are most by a Tribe rookie since Jody Gerut collected 134 hits in 2003. Particularly hot since the All-Star break, Lindor amassed 99 hits in 73 games, good for third-most among AL batters (Houston's Jose Altuve, 102 & Boston's Xander Bogaerts, 100).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is also the most second-half hits of any Indians rookie since 1947 when Dale Mitchell logged 129 base hits. Additionally, Lindor is just the fifth first-year AL rookie under the age of 22 over the past 33 MLB seasons (1983-2015) to collect over 100 hits and more than 10 home runs in a single season, joining Ruben Sierra (1986), Ken Griffey, Jr. (1989), Rocco Baldelli (2003) and Eric Hosmer (2011). Among his AL rookie peers, Lindor, who was promoted from Columbus (AAA) on June 14th, finished the season first in batting average, tied for first in doubles (22), second in hits (122) and third in on-base percentage.
Anderson compiled a 5-0 record with a 1.38 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched over six starts to claim his first career AL Pitcher of the Month Award, and the first for an Indians hurler since Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber won last year for the month of September. Among qualified AL starters for the month, Cody finished first in wins and ERA, and third in innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .212 off the right-hander and his two home runs allowed were tied for fourth-fewest among AL starters.
A winner of five consecutive decisions to finish off his 2015 campaign, the 25-year-old became the first Major League rookie to win five games in the month of September since Anibal Sanchez went 5-1 for the Florida Marlins in 2006. He is the first AL rookie to do so since Barry Zito went 5-1 for the Oakland A's in 2000. Overall, the Quincy, California native is the first Indians rookie to win seven games since Mitch Talbot earned 10 wins in 2010.
Cleveland's 14th round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft finished his first Major League season with a 7-3 record to go along with a 3.05 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 91.1 innings pitched in 15 starts. In the second start of Anderson's award-winning month, the Feather River College product delivered 7.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball to combine with Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen for a shutout of the Detroit Tigers on September 6th. Lowering his cumulative ERA in each start since August 7th, Anderson finished his rookie season with six consecutive quality starts. In his final start of 2015, Anderson recorded his third start with at least 7.0 scoreless innings pitched in a 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on September 30th at Progressive Field.
Among AL rookie leaders for the 2015 season, Cleveland's young starter finished tied for fifth in wins and fourth in ERA. With an 81-80 record, the Tribe completed its third consecutive season with a record above .500.
(MLB press release)
