Cubs' Soto named Gillette's NL rookie of the month

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto has been named the August recipient of the National League Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette.

In 24 games in August, Soto hit .355 (27-76) with 17 runs, five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 21 RBI. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native posted a .566 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. In August, the backstop collected seven multi-hit games and six games with two or more RBI. Soto's month was highlighted by Chicago's 14-9 win over Pittsburgh on August 26th, when he put up a career-high seven RBI with a pair of bases loaded doubles and a solo homer. He also drove in four runs in a 10-2 Cubs' win at Atlanta on August 13th. On the season, the 25-year-old is hitting .290 with 21 homers, 80 RBI, a .509 slugging percentage and a .368 on-base percentage. Soto already has set a Club record for home runs by a rookie catcher, and he is the first Cubs rookie to reach 21 homers since Billy Williams hit 25 in 1961. The 21 homers are the most by any rookie catcher since Mike Piazza hit 35 in 1993. On July 15th at Yankee Stadium, Soto became the first N.L. rookie catcher to ever start in the MLB All-Star Game and the first Cubs player to start behind the dish in the Midsummer Classic since Gabby Hartnett in 1937. Soto was also named the April recipient of the N.L. Rookie of the Month Award presented by Gillette.

Other rookies receiving votes included Colorado Rockies infielder Ian Stewart (.295, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 18 R); Chicago Cubs right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP, 13 SO); and St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher Chris Perez (0.00 ERA, 9.1 IP, 6 SV, 12 SO).

MLB fans should visit www.mlb.com/gillette throughout the season to access information on the nominees, unique statistics, video clips and exclusive editorial content all focused on the rookies.

As part of Gillette's involvement, fans, for the first time, have a voice in selecting the Rookie of the Month winners by voting online each month at www.mlb.com/gillette. The online fan vote represents 20% of the overall vote with the remaining votes coming from team baseball writers and Club broadcasters.

Gillette, the presenting sponsor of the National League Rookie of the Month Award will donate $5,000 in the name of Geovany Soto to the Club's official charity.