Nationals’ Trea Turner earns second straight NL Rookie of the Month nod...

Trea Turner posted a .357/.366/.571 line with six doubles, three triples and five home runs in 28 games and 131 plate appearances in August, earning his first NL Rookie of the Month nod. He followed that up with a .339/.380/.612 September in which he hit five doubles, two triples and eight home runs in 29 games and 129 PAs.

Turner stole 11 bases in 14 attempts in August and 15 bases in 18 attempts in the final month of the 2016 campaign.

On Monday afternoon, the 23-year-old infielder/outfielder was named the NL Rookie of the Month for September as well.

Turner, a press release on the award noted, joined, “[Bryce] Harper (May and Sept./Oct. 2012) and Ryan Church (May, 2005) as the only Nationals rookies ever to take home the monthly award.”

In 73 games in the majors, Turner put up a .342/.370/.567 line with 14 doubles, eight triples, 13 HRs and 33 stolen bases in 324 PAs, over which he was worth 3.2 fWAR, finishing behind only Bryce Harper (3.4 over 147 games), Wilson Ramos (3.5 in 131 games), Anthony Rendon (4.6 in 156 games) and Daniel Murphy (5.5 in 142) among Nationals’ players.

Dusty Baker talked after Sunday’s series finale, in which Turner went 1 for 3 with two walks and a stolen base, about the impact Turner had on the lineup when he was called up for good in mid-July.

“That was big, you know,” Baker said. “Especially after we lost [Stephen Strasburg], because our strength was basically our pitching, and the fact that we played good defense and we hit the ball out of the ballpark, and then when Trea came, Trea gave us another weapon, another element. I mean, here’s a young man batting leadoff that drove in 40 runs and hit 13 home runs and stole 30 bases in a half a season. So, oh yeah, he had tremendous impact on our lineup and had a lot to do with us winning.”

The best notes from the press release on Turner’s award?

Turner’s .342 AVG on the year ended up being the highest by any rookie with at least 290 ABs since Ichiro Suzuki hit .350 for the Seattle Mariners in his first season in the majors in 2001.

And:

“According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only three rookies in Major League history have hit as high as .340 with as many as 13 home runs after the All-Star break – putting Turner in some esteemed company: Hal Trosky (CLE, 1934: .349, 19 HR), Ted Williams (BOS, 1939: .345, 19 HR) and Willie McCovey (SFG, 1959: .354, 13 HR).”

Now watch Trea Turner celebrating a walk off winner while stars fall from the sky: