MLB Team of the Month: Austin Riley starts lineup, Edwin Diaz closes it

By Ben Verlander
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

No one had a better July than Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves.

In his final at-bat of the month, Riley hit a walk-off RBI double into the right-center gap. That double was his 26th extra-base hit in July, topping Hall of Famer Hank Aaron’s franchise record of 25 XBH in a month.

Overall, Riley hit .423 with 11 home runs and 25 RBIs in July. 

Then on Aug. 1, he agreed to a new 10-year deal worth $212 million, which will keep him in Atlanta for the foreseeable future. 

Welcome to my MLB Team of the Month, an extension of my Team of the Week, where I highlight players who had standout performances over the past seven days.

Nobody did it better in July than Riley. Now let’s take a look at the rest of my Team of the Month.

Aaron Judge, Austin Riley headline Team of the Month

Ben Verlander breaks down his July Team of the Month, featuring Aaron Judge, Austin Riley, Juan Soto and Starling Marte.

Watch “Flippin’ Bats with Ben Verlander” on YouTube, or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.

C JT Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies

Realmuto was fantastic in July. He hit .339 with five home runs and an OPS of 1.040. He was a huge part in getting the Phillies back into the playoff race and into a wild-card spot where they currently sit.

1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers

Before the break, Freeman was on an absolute tear that really helped bolster his numbers on the year after a slower start in the power department. Since the break, he has stayed hot and wound up putting together a great month to the tune of a .376 average, six homers, and a 1.118 OPS.

2B Ramon Urias, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles have been a lot of fun to watch lately. In June, they had their first winning month in five years. In July, Ramon Urias helped continue their good stretch of baseball by hitting .343 with five home runs and 18 RBIs. DJ LeMahieu was in consideration here, but in the end Urias’ power and RBIs earned him the nod.

SS Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers 

With a .327 average, five home runs, and 17 RBIs, Trea Turner was the best shortstop in baseball for the best team in baseball during the month of July. He also won the starting shortstop spot during the All-Star game at his home stadium in L.A.

How the Dodgers dominate

Ben Verlander talks about the Dodgers’ dominance entering the second half and explains how Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Justin Turner have stepped up to the plate along with key performances by Tony Gonsolin and the rest of the pitching staff!

OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees 

In the first 10 games out of the All-Star break, which wasn’t much of a break for Judge considering he started the game, he hit nine home runs and tallied 13 RBIs. He is having a historic year and is on pace to break the Yankees’ single-season home run record (61, Roger Maris). Judge wound up hitting .344 in July with 13 home runs, 32 RBIs and an incredible OPS of 1.282.

OF Juan Soto, San Diego Padres

Even amid all the trade drama, Soto put together the best month of his 2022 season. He found his power stroke in July, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 24 runs. Soto was one of the best players in baseball in July, he is one of the best players in the game period, he is only 23 years old … and July was his last month in a Nationals uniform.

OF Starling Marte, New York Mets

Marte has been the MVP for the Mets this season. Yes, Pete Alonso is driving in tons of runs and hitting for power. Yes, Francisco Lindor has been light years better than last year and has been a huge key to the success. But, to me, Marte was the missing piece the Mets needed. He plays good defense, he steals bases, and thanks to his excellent July, he’s now hitting over .300 on the season. For the month, Marte hit .377 with four homers and a 1.019 OPS.  

DH Matt Carpenter, New York Yankees

Carpenter was a pickup nobody really batted an eye at when the Yankees announced it in late May. In July, he was even better than the Astros’ DH, Yordan Álvarez, who is arguably having the best offensive season in baseball. Carpenter hit .343 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs on the month. He has also come up clutch so many times for the Yankees in his short stint there.

SP Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox

Since the start of June, Cease has given up a grand total of four earned runs. In July, he was 5-1, and the one loss came in a game in which he allowed one run. On the month, Cease gave up just three earned runs in 35.2 innings pitched and struck out 40 guys to boot. 

RP Edwin Diaz, New York Mets

There is no better closer in the game right now. There is no better closer entrance in the game right now either. Those both belong to Edwin Diaz. In a month that saw him trot out of the bullpen a lot, with trumpets blaring in the background, he couldn’t have been more dominant. He pitched in 11 games, tallied seven saves, pitched 11.1 innings, gave up only two hits, not a single run, and struck out 25 batters. 

That is what you call dominance.

Ben Verlander is an MLB Analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the “Flippin’ Bats” podcast. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Verlander was an All-American at Old Dominion University before he joined his brother, Justin, in Detroit as a 14th-round pick of the Tigers in 2013. He spent five years in the Tigers organization. Follow him on Twitter @BenVerlander.