Andrew McCutchen named NL Player of the Month

Andrew McCutchen has been named the NL Player of the Month after batting .348/.470/.609 with five home runs in August. Joey Votto, A.J. Pollock, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Yoenis Cespedes and Ryan Zimmerman all also received consideration, according to a news release.

McCutchen was named the NL Player of the Week on August 9, and he kept hitting after that, piling up 14 hits while hitting safely in eight straight games to end the month. He's now won four NL Player of the Month awards, including two in 2012 and one in June of last season.

McCutchen's big August likely made him a serious MVP candidate. Bryce Harper is the favorite, but you never know how voters might react if the Nationals don't make the playoffs. If the voters decide to go in a different direction, the best player on a likely playoff team has been ... well, Clayton Kershaw, in my opinion. But if you want a position player, it's got to be Cutch, who worms his way into these discussions year after year.