Cole Hamels named National League Pitcher of the Month

Cole Hamels might wind up being the best acquisition by anyone during the trade season in 2018.

And he’s already received an award. Tuesday he was named National League Pitcher of the Month for August.

During August Hamels made six starts, went 4-0 with an 0.69 ERA, threw 39 innings, allowed 28 hits and 11 walks for a 1.000 WHIP and struck out 38. He threw the Cubs’ only complete game of the season August 23 at Wrigley Field against the Reds, an eight-hit, one-run effort with seven strikeouts.

Hamels has been a godsend to a rotation that was decimated by the loss of Yu Darvish to injury and Tyler Chatwood to... walk-itis, I guess you’d call it (or, more diplomatically, “ineffectiveness”). Right now he’d be the guy I’d call on to make the Game 1 start in any Cubs postseason series.

It’s the second Pitcher of the Month award for a Cubs hurler this year, as lefthander Jon Lester won the award in June.

Congratulations to Cole on this award, and Lester and Hamels also are nominees for the Roberto Clemente Award this year, Lester for the Cubs and Hamels for his former team, the Rangers.