Andrelton Simmons has been named the National League's Rookie of the Month for June. The news really doesn't come as much of a surprise seeing that Simmons has been phenomenal since his first game on June 2, and he beat out some serious competition for the award.
With the terrific pace he's on now, could Simmons even challenge for Rookie of the Year?
In June, Simmons hit .333 with a very solid OPS of .887. And while those offensive numbers are strong, what really sets Simmons out is his defense. ESPN recently named him the best defender in the month of June after a survey of various folks, and most scouts only see him getting better as he continues to get exposure to the Major League level.
WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is a nifty stat that determines a player's overall value by how good they are on offense, defense and when running the bases. Simmons was a 1.7 WAR player in June, which is unheard of for a shortstop his age.
To give you a comparison, Michael Bourn has been a 3.9 WAR player this entire season, and he's played 3x the games Simmons has. Bourn is currently tied for the fifth-best WAR in baseball.
This young shortstop has the potential to be a star given his defense alone, and his bat has done nothing but impress those in Atlanta. If Simmons is able to maintain this level of production throughout the summer, he may just beat out Bryce Harper for National League Rookie of the Year.
For more on the Braves, check out Talking Chop.